We should be born old,
We should arrive wise,
Be capable of deciding our fate in this world,
To know, from that primordial crossroad, what roads are commencing
And only the longing to journey be deemed irresponsible.
Later we should become young, younger still, travelling,
Mature and strong we should arrive at the gate of creativity,
Pass through it into love, entering it as adolescents,
And be children, when our children are born.
Anyway by then they should be older than us,
Would teach us how to talk, would rock us to sleep,
We would disappear little by little, progressively growing smaller,
Like a grain of wheat, like a grain mustard, like a grain of sand...
(from the volume Testament - 400 de ani de poezie românească - 400 Years of Romanian Poetry - Daniel Ionita - editor and principal translator, assisted by Daniel Reynaud, Adriana Paul and Eva Foster - Minerva Publishing- 2019)
Translator: Daniel Ionita
see more poems written by: Ana Blandiana
