Why I Need Wisterias

My friend, the greatest English poet Norton Hodges translated my poem "J'ai besoin de glycine":


Why I Need Wisterias

for Orlando I know

Your love is so modest and restrained
it must be written in invisible ink
in the silent pages of your letter!

To find any tender words
I'll have to risk a fire
by bringing my heart closer to the page.

I have to find ways,
despite the paper's creased look,
its confusion and anxiety,
to make it spill out
the precious shining confession
of your love!

I have to be like the gentle wind
of night which brings the gift
of its unease
to the small flickering lamps of the fireflies.

I have to weigh as little as eternity
when it dictates its poem to the morning.

My friend,

To read your words I need
roses in whose fragrance
float the houses of this city!

I need wisterias to keep hold
of your life in my hand!

translated from the French of Athanase Vantchev de Thracy by Norton Hodges 11.07.08.