8/14/2019 4-by-Stanescu.pdf

1/4

POETRY by Nichita Stnescu

LECIA DESPRE CERC

by Nichita Stanescu

Se deseneaz pe nisip un cercdup care se taie n dou,cu acelai b de alun se taie n dou.

Dup aceea se cade n genunchi,

dup aceea se cade n brnci.Dup aceea se izbete cu fruntea nisipuli i se cere iertare cercului.Att.

OPERA POETICA II (Ed Alexandru Condeescu, Bucureti: Humanitas, 1999).

A Lesson on the Circle

translated by Gabriel Prajitura and JoAnne Growney

You draw a circle in the sand

and then halve the circle

with the same hazelnut stick.

Next you fall to your knees,

then to all fours.Then you hit the sand with your forehead

and apologize to the circle.

Thats all.

First published inCIRCUMFERENCE(Summer/Autumn, 2004).

http://www.circumferencemag.com/http://www.circumferencemag.com/http://www.circumferencemag.com/http://www.circumferencemag.com/

8/14/2019 4-by-Stanescu.pdf

2/4

LECIA DESPRES CUB

by Nichita Stanescu

Se ia o bucat de piatrse cioplete cu o dalt de snge,se lustruiete cu ochiul lui Homer,se rzuiete cu razepn cubul iese perfect.Dup aceea se srut de nenumrate ori cubulcu gura ta, cu gura altora,

i mai ales cu gura infantei.

Dup aceea se ia un ciocani brusc se frm un col de-al cubului.Toi, dar absolut toi zice-vor:Ce cub perfect ar fi fost acestade n-ar fi avut un col sfrmat!

OPERA POETICA II (Ed Alexandru Condeescu, Bucureti: Humanitas, 1999).

ALesson on the Cube

translated by Gabriel Prajitura and JoAnne Growney

You take a piece of stone,

chisel it with blood,

grind it with Homers eye,burnish it with beams

until the cube comes out perfect.

Next you endlessly kiss the cube

with your mouth, with others mouths,and, most important, with infantas mouth. .

Then you take a hammerand suddenly knock a corner off.

All, indeed absolutely all will saywhat a perfect cube this would have been

if not for the broken corner!

First published inCIRCUMFERENCE(Summer/Autumn, 2004).

http://www.circumferencemag.com/http://www.circumferencemag.com/http://www.circumferencemag.com/http://www.circumferencemag.com/

8/14/2019 4-by-Stanescu.pdf

3/4

POEZIA

Poezia este ochiul care plangeEa este umarul care plange

ochiul umarului care plange.Ea este mana care plange

ochiul mainii care plange.

Ea este talpa care plangeochiul calcaiului care plange.

O voi, prieteni,

poezia nu este lacrimaea este insusi plansul

plansul unui ochi neinventat,lacrima ochiului

celui care trebuie sa fie frumos,lacrima celui care trbuie sa fie fericit.

POETRY

Poetry is the eye that weeps

It is the shoulder that weepsthe eye of the shoulder that weeps.

It is the hand that weepsthe eye of the hand that weeps

It is the weeping solethe eye of the weeping heel.

O, you friends,

poetry is not tearsit is the act of weeping --

weeping from eyes not yet created,

tears from the eyesof him who should be handsome,

tears of him who should be happy.

translated by Stelian Apostolescu and JoAnne Growney

8/14/2019 4-by-Stanescu.pdf

4/4

Timpul ca lumin

1.

Orice obiect, dup distrugerea criteriilor lui interioare, involutiv se transform n lumin.Orice obiect este o form de lumin oprit ntr-o structur.

2.

Funcia principal a obiectelor este absoria. Atta timp ct fora de absorie depete fora deejecie, obiectul se afl n formare, n cretere.Gravitaia reprezint suma absoriilor obiectelor reunite ntr-un cmp cosmic.

3.Forme de gravitaie sau de absorie se pot remarca i n domeniul semi-abstract al limbii.Atragerile i respingerile reciproce ntre grupurile de cuvinte le -au transformat pe acesteatreptat-treptat n substantive i verbe, cu tot roiul de nuane nconjurtoare.

4.Starea de absorie exprimat prin sentimente corespunde strii de mirare. Starea de ejecieexprimat prin sentimente corespunde strii firescului. Starea mirrii poate produce sublim ispaim. Firescul este o stare luminoas.

5.

Mirarea oprete timpul, iar firescul, dimpotriv, l declaneaz. Timpul este de fapt lumin. n

acest sens, unitatea cea mai mic de timp este fotonul.

6.Luminescena putregaiului dintr-o pdure, copil fiind, m-a pus pe ginduri. Starea lui de vis mi-a dat un sentiment ciudat. Mai trziu mi-am imaginat lumina ca fiind starea de dinainte de

natere i starea de dup moarte. Imitnd o formul a lui Coanda: omul este un accidenthidraulic, a zice: omul este un accident al luminii. n acest sens am putea considera luminasolar ca pe o stare prenatal, ca pe un timp neorganizat ntr-o structur.

7.Somnul echilibreaz absoria cu ejecia. Face evident starea discontinu a luciditii, deci aexistenei. Timpul se dezorganizeaz n perioada somnului. Lumina devine interioar, devinesentiment, transformndu-se n lucioli.

8.

nssi existena, ca somn al luminii, face evident discontinuitatea acesteia i deci a timpului.n acest sens putem s socotim existena ca pe o cuant de timp.

9.

Interiorul fotonului ine esena universului: timpul. Transformarea luminii n existen itransformarea existenei n lumin, aa cum mi-o nchipui acum, poate fi o metafor. Dar dacnu e numai o metafor?

10.M ntreb dac luminescena aceea nocturn dintr-o pdure a copilriei era o natere sau omoarte. Dac era o ncetinire de lumin pn la transformarea ei, nchegarea ei n simuri, saudimpotriv, dac era distrugerea de organe emannd lucioli de vis.

11. Timpul este lumin. Dar lumina, ce este lumina?

Time as Light translated by Stelian Apostolescu and JoAnne Growney

1.

Any object, when its internal benchmarks are destroyed, melts into light.

Any object has light inherent in its structure.

2.

The main function of objects is absorption. As long as the absorption force surpasses the force

of emission, the object keeps forming, growing. For all objects, gravitation is the sum of their

absorptions, united as a cosmic field.

3.

One can observe forms of gravitation or absorption in the semi-abstract field of language.Reciprocal repulsions among groups of words have changed them bit by bit into nouns and

verbs with a profusion of surrounding hues.

4.An absorbing state expressed in terms of feelings corresponds to a state of wonder. An

emitting state expressed in feelings corresponds to normality. A state of wonder can cause awe

and terror. Normality is a luminous state.

5.

Wonder stops time, and normality, to the contrary, releases it. Time is, in fact, light. In this

respect, the smallest unit of time is the photon.

6.

The glow of decay in a forest, while I was a child, affected me, put me in a dream state that

felt weird. Later, I imagined that light is the state prior to birth and the state after death.

Paraphrasing a formula of Coanda : man is a hydraulic accident, I would say : man is aluminous accident. In this respect we might consider solar light as prenatal life, like time notyet structured.

7.

Sleep creates equilibrium between absorption and emission. It gives evidence of thediscontinuity of Lucidity, i. e., of existence. Time grows less organized during sleep. The

light becomes internal, becomes feeling, changes itself into luminosity.

8.

Existence itself, as lights sleep, offers evidence of its own discontinuity, that is, of time. Inthis respect one can consider existence as a quanta of time.

9.

A photon contains within itself the essence of the Universe : time. Transformation of light

into existence or existence into light, as I see it now, may be only a metaphor. But what if it

ceases to be a metaphor ?

10.I ask myself whether that nighttime glow in the forest of my childhood was a birth or a death.

Whether it was a delay in lights transformation, its recognition by the senses, or was, to thecontrary, the decay of organs radiating halos.

11. Time is light. But light? What is light ?