Dandelion, ecumenic flower,
the year obeys
your golden ardor
to assign its happiest days
on unwritten folios.
You are worthy of a hymn,
unregarded roadside bloom,
your one pure wish to sow
the earth with seed --
so you blossom and fade,
contriving the halo around
some unknown saint’s head.
Lucian Blaga, tr. by James Owens
Odă simplisimei flori
Păpădie, ecumenică floare,
după a ta aurie ardoare
– pe nescrisele file –
anul îşi hotăreşte fericitele zile.
De un pean te-nvredniceşti,
tu, neluată în seamă, floare de rând.
Sămânţă să faci pe pământ
e tot ce doreşti. Alt gând nu porţi.
Dar înfloreşti şi asfinţeşti
alcătuind o aureolă de sfânt.
Păpădie, ecumenică floare,
după a ta aurie ardoare
– pe nescrisele file –
anul îşi hotăreşte fericitele zile.
De un pean te-nvredniceşti,
tu, neluată în seamă, floare de rând.
Sămânţă să faci pe pământ
e tot ce doreşti. Alt gând nu porţi.
Dar înfloreşti şi asfinţeşti
alcătuind o aureolă de sfânt.
ah another masterpeice! it is never ending around here.
ReplyDeleteah is the little princess of the bridge displaying more natural beauty with her natural play.
I often feel indignant when I pass a dandylion field that they are thought of as you say the humblest of flowers. they always appear to me as minute suns in our universe.would it be that they are so common and hardy that they are disregarded as being too mundane.
ah yes and when the seed develops into the seed heads and a beautiful little sphere is formed probably to remind us that the dandilion has a universe of its own it is a planet orbiting our thoughts.
and yes what imaginative play that the little princess reminds us of to blow with the breath of the planet on the sphere and send it flying through the air randomnly in its tiny parachute and wondering where it will land in its more s playful gesture that does not lack divine seriousness.
sending you and the little princess hugs on dandylion wings.
oh and p.s. our telephone directory a couple of years back displayed this beauty on its cover and I thought bravo.
"as minute suns in our universe" - how wonderfully you put this, Madeleine!!! yes, i agree with you, i have always loved them, in all forms, their golden flame and their frail white robe... i didn't know how to describe it and doing a little search now, i see that it is called "seed head" - not very poetical, but interesting all the same, i didn't know those were the seeds! :-) so indeed a universe is there, drifting away on our breath, to find a new home to expand...
Deletethank you for your lovely images and your tenderness for the little one :-)
No one can appreciate the glory of a dandelion, in all its stages of magnificence, as perfectly as a child can! I do remember this vividly from my own childhood...only slightly discouraged by the sticky milk that stained my fingers when the flowers proved too irresistible to pick.
ReplyDeletethis seems to be a magic of childhood that all children share, then? all over the world? why does this make me smile so?
DeleteAlways adore.
ReplyDeletePeter, i am so happy when you come here.
DeleteThis is a beautiful poem and your wonderful translation, James, makes me hope that this will be in print one day.
ReplyDeleteb.
maybe this will happen one day, we've been thinking about an anthology of romanian poems translated in english - one day, one day :-)
Deletethank you, billoo, for your kind words.
D'une beauté rare... et des photographies d'une grande générosité... un peu comme toi Roxanna ! A bientôt ?... :-)
ReplyDeletemerci, cher Jeff, en souriant... oui, a tres bientot, j'ai deja contemple les beautes sur ta page, mais je vais retourner pour laisser un petit mot :-)
DeleteA folk legend of time, of prediction, blow by blow. (-: google still attempts humour, bless it! Always a way though. (It's not a flower, though!)
ReplyDeleteit's not a flower? but what is it? what do you mean? i don't get this, Michael T.
DeleteIt's not the golden-spoked flower you have photographed but its feathery seed pod. This is used for such purposes as determining whether a child's or adolescent's, or occasionally an overly sentimental adult's, affections are reciprocated, divining how long one is fated to live, and other rituals involving number and / or time. The number of puffs of breath it takes to completely disperse the umbrella-seeds yielding the number one seeks. Thus it is often used as a sort of future clock, and has various rustic aliases which reflect this. :-)
Deletelike in this famous play - though another flower is used :-)
DeleteFAUST
Sweet love!
MARGARET
Just wait awhile!
(She gathers a star-flower and plucks off the leaves one after
another.)
FAUST
A nosegay may that be?
MARGARET
No! It is but a game.
FAUST
How?
MARGARET
Go, you'll laugh at me!
(She plucks off the leaves and murmurs to herself.)
FAUST
What murmurest thou?
MARGARET (half aloud)'
He loves me--loves me not.
FAUST
Sweet angel, with thy face of heavenly bliss!
MARGARET (continues)
He loves me--not--he loves me--not--
(Plucking off the last leaf with fond joy.)
He loves me!
FAUST
Yes!
And this flower-language, darling, let it be,
A heavenly oracle! He loveth thee!
Know'st thou the meaning of, He loveth thee?
(He seizes both her hands.)
MARGARET
I tremble so!
nu am privit niciodata pana acum papadia ca pe o floare "ecumenica",insa intotdeauna m-a fascinat aceasta tacere galbena a ei,apoi zborul alb,praful acela in care se transforma ea fiindca inca vie,inca gata pentru multe minunatii:)mi se pare-si aici,la fel-o prezenta tare iconoclasta raspandita prin universul care pare sa se tine bine pe picioare,la prima vedere.dar ea este atat de libera si de usoara,atat de jucausa,parand ca oricine o poate prinde-si totusi,nimeni.cred ca asta m-a pus pe ganduri tot timpul-ca ea scapa printre degete....
ReplyDeletecine ar putea să o prindă definitiv, cine? poate că este, aici, cea mai frumoasa lecţie a iubirii, să iubim până şi praful alb care se risipeşte, fără să încercăm să îl ţinem lângă noi, în palma noastră...
DeleteQuerida Roxana:
ReplyDeleteCelebro este post. La primera y la última foto son geniales, cuando las ví quedé hipnotizado.
Lejos, es uno de los mejores posts que publicaste.
Felicitaciones!!! Maga!!! Genia!!!
Te esperamos en nuestros blogs...
soy muy feliz y honrada, querido Ohscar. fue un hermoso momento de juego,de alegría y de luz, y estoy tan contenta de que mis fotos pueden expresarlo de forma que toca el alma de otra persona ...
Deletegracias, de todo corazón
Whispered secrets... I agree with Lynne up there. I too remember how enchanted I was with dandelions as a child. What a wonderful reminder!
ReplyDeletethere are no dandelions in your world now, are there, dear Stickup? then this memory must be even more intense! i am happy :-)
DeleteWonderful images here on your blog
ReplyDeletethank you for your visit and kind words, Visual Communication.
DeleteBeautiful
ReplyDeletethank you again...
DeleteThe dandelion parachute, taking springtime to its next destination.
ReplyDeletei am sure it is a too banal flower for you, dear Prospero, but see, even she has her charms (it is feminine in romanian, păpădie, with two small parachutes :-)
Delete