MOURNING (English)

Mon poème "Deuil" ("Mourning") traduit en anglais by Norton Hodges

for Tanguy

'Doxa to theo pantôn eneken'
(Glory to God for All Things)

St John Chrysostom

Here lies Athanase
for this is now his dwelling place.

At his funeral yesterday
we all wept.
He was our sweet joie de vivre,our song thrush.

We assumed it was one of his other friends,
who stepped up lightly as a cloud and planted
the white rosebush on his grave!

Concealing his face, he walked away without a word,
leaving only this note:

We wanted our Friend
so muchthat he is with us now.

And, at the bottom of the note,
like a promise, was this signature:

From an Angel

written inside a small heart-shaped flower,
delicate and intensely blue!

How sad we are tonight!
Our faces are wet with
the cool rain of July stars!

How can we bring into the light of day
the sadness which is eating away our very souls?

O night of mourning,
night that can neither be spoken of nor remain unsaid!

translated from the French of Athanase Vantchev de Thracy by Norton Hodges
21.07.08.