The Steppes of Akerman (Adam Mickiewicz)

Into the wide expanse I plunge, waterless ocean:
Deep in the grass the wagon dips, rolls like a boat.
Amid the bending waves, flowers, it seems to float,
Avoiding coral islands, weeds, in winding motion.

Darkening in the west – no hill, path, will appear.
I stare into the sky, at every guiding star.
Is that the rising dawn? A shining cloud afar?
The Dniestr – Akerman country lighthouse – it is near.

Stop! Ah, so quiet. Listen! Hear the calling cranes
(Fleeing the hawk, they seek invisibility);
Butterflies’ moving wings in grass upon the plains;

A snake, slippery-breasted, bends the greenery.
In such a quiet, I, excited, take some pains
To hear my homeland’s call … Let’s go. No home for me.

Alexandrines (Martin Bidney)

What do I love the most about the grateful task
Of rendering Mickiewicz into English lines?
Discovering the way the alexandrine shines,
Majestic, broad and grand, relaxed. The bard will bask,

Like Alexander, great in leisured, lordly grace.
The stateliness of cadence, boldly audible,
Is visual as well. The panorama full
Of clear detail, the crane, the butterfly, lent space

To ever-widened views of endless verdure and
Tempted the tensile ear to listen for the call
To come from miles away. The alexandrine land –

A plain, a sparkling river, starry sky and all
The oceanic sweep, fullness of life at hand –
Will lead the Polish poet to the Immortals’ hall.

So nett geht’s weiter in:
Martin Bidney »A Poetic Dialogue with Adam Mickiewicz. The ›Crimean Sonnets‹«. Translated, with Sonnet Preface, Sonnet Replies, and Notes.
102 Seiten, 2 s/w-Abb., fadengeheftete Broschur, 1. Aufl., Bonn 2007, ISBN 978-3-939431-16-9, Euro 12,80