| ZABRÁNIT' ZLU | TO WITHSTAND EVIL | ||||
| Mila Haugová | trans. James & Viera Sutherland-Smith (from Slovak) | ||||
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Alfa žije d'alej, Spi menej. Sníva zriedka. Miluje viac. Márnotratne, jesenne kvitne. Slabne jej zrak. Trápi ju nemé, tiché párenie. Má strach. Muž v kruhu zla. Okolo hrdla krv. Alfa sa pred nim skrýva,
Alfa kráča nad priepast'ou sveta. Čelo stiahnuté. Ruky sústredené na pohyb; obväzuje rany, pochováva mŕtvych, utešuje opustené deti, pestuje v záhrade liečivé byliny, trhá ovocie, polieva horúcu zem, prechádza sa v noci pod stromami, prihovára sa dávno mŕtvym. Muž je d'aleko, stratený v labyrinte tvárí. Je nedel'a. Alfa si oddýchne, ruky zložené v lone ako pred ňou tisíce žien. Nemodlí sa. To, čo vie a vidí, je pre Boha príli  vel'a. To musí uniest' sama. Drži sa samoty, sveta, rána ... |
Alfa lives on. She sleeps less. She hardly dreams. She loves much more. She blooms in the wastefulness of autumn. Her sight weakens. She suffers a silent, deaf mating. She is afraid. A man in a circle of evil. Around his neck, blood. Alfa conceals herself from him,
Alfa steps out over the world precipice. Her brow is furrowed. Her hands are devoted to movement; she dresses wounds, buries the dead, comforts abandoned children, cultivates healing herbs in her garden, plucks fruit, waters the parched earth, wanders beneath the trees at night, intercedes with the long dead. Far from her the man is lost in a labyrinth of faces. It's Sunday. Alfa draws breath, her hands folded in her lap like thousands of women before. She does not pray. What she sees and knows is too much for God. She has to bear it alone. She holds on to loneliness, the world, morning ... |
Copyright © Mila Haugová 2003: transl. copyright © James & Viera Sutherland-Smith 2003 - publ. Arc Publications