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Poetry

claustrophobia

By Mariana Dan
Translated from Romanian by Adam J. Sorkin & Mariana Dan

in the cellar, my father
dead for so many years
among madmen and deaf mutes
their pants pockets
stuffed with money and passports

outside, lonely horses
shod with crescent moons and crosses

I feel seasick

I am a tiny insect
a stowaway on a wooden schooner
exquisitely made
by the master directly
in a brandy bottle

Translations of “surd ca o bute,” “după pompei,” “claustrofobie.” Copyright 2006 Mariana Dan. Translations copyright 2008 by Mariana Dan and Adam J. Sorkin. All rights reserved.

English

in the cellar, my father
dead for so many years
among madmen and deaf mutes
their pants pockets
stuffed with money and passports

outside, lonely horses
shod with crescent moons and crosses

I feel seasick

I am a tiny insect
a stowaway on a wooden schooner
exquisitely made
by the master directly
in a brandy bottle

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