Ask Not by Paruyr Sevak

IMG_0766_B_900, a photo by ~ Jonathan ~ on Flickr.

Ask not: “Do you love me?”
Just as the blind man remembers his cane,
You too keep in mind
That when questions are not asked in vain
A lie is not answered.
Do not become sad from what I say
But think
Who, for measuring the dark well,
Would throw her own child in?

Ask not and I will tell you
Far more than you request.

And I, a one-day believer, am telling you
And you listen, my new goddess …
A ritual of faith will take place today.
Who needs confessions?

You are an unknown new world
And I’m an experienced explorer
That knows badly, very badly
Your promising terrain.
And in me speaks again
The desperate spirit of discovery.
I want to learn you by heart
And trace your map with my mind.
Who needs questions?

And isn’t it far better
That a man’s legs stumble
Than his tongue?
So let us not speak
But walk ahead
On this strange road.
Until we reach our sanctuary
A magical place,
Where there are no masters but us.
There we must be voiceless like water
And blind like fire,
There despite the laws we know
Bodies do not expand in heat
But curl up
And all problems are dissolved like salt
Leaving its taste in our mouths,
Inside our nerves,
On our bewildered faces…

And then I might unconsciously ask you
“Do you love me?”
I shall ask you
Without awaiting an answer,
But to help you regain
Your image of a goddess
Your image of a world
That had no traced map.
And to my question
You might then respond
“They say you only help to unclothe
But you helped to dress…
You are different,
I love you…”

translated by Ani Boghossian

շշշշշշ…. լսում ես?….

photo by Nicolas Bouvier

 

 

Ես հենվում եմ ընդ քեզ, հանգիստ
Ամեն ինչ հանդարտ էր, և դու
Դու երգում էիր ինձ շատ կամաց
Դու երգում էիր ինձ շատ կամաց
Լուսնի լուսո ներքո ես տեսնում եմ քեզ, կռացած
Լուսնի լուսո ներքո դու դառնում ես կապույտ լուսաբաց

Շնորհակալ եմ հուսո համար, որ տվեցիր
Շնորհակալ եմ հուսո համար…

Sigur Ros — Svo Hljott թարգմանություն

An ordinary miracle* by Paruyr Sevak

 

 

We met…
And what happened? Can you comprehend?
As though life swiftly took a bath
After long playing like a dirty child.
The air that was covered with a murky mist
Uncovered itself
Turning into rain,
Turning into snow,
And we suddenly could taste the air again
So flavorsome, existent
That… you simply wouldn’t want to eat anymore…

We met…
And what happened? Can you comprehend?
As a gift from life to a chosen two
To the sense of loyalty
Tenderness affixed with a double force
Resulting in…an immortal love,
Like water that has no demise
When the hydrogen rams into oxygen with a double force…

We met….
And the poetry barricade
Utterly collapsed…
Science dissolved in your wet eyes of love
Your feet left their marks on history’s face
The wave of your hand demolished air, rebuilt it again
Enriching geometry with new laws
For one lucky discerner

We met…
And all of the “but”s went into deep sleep
So that laughter, suddenly awake,
Would jump up with might
Tempest dauntingly
Trying in some way to shatter, erase
All the rigid layers of the sky.
And on the erased spot of atmospheres
Upside-down fountains of insane joy would hang
That can open up and never close down.

We met…
And we met
In a very simple, ordinary way
So that miracles could themselves become
Very simple, ordinary things…

translated by Ani Bogh © All rights reserved.

Confession * by Paruyr Sevak

Again the Frenchman spoke in me…

And once again I disregarded

The wise words of my forefathers…

Holy Father of Prudence,

To who

Must I now confess my sins?

 

Holy Father, I wish with my whole being

To erase the word “careful”.

Is that a great sin?

 

Holy Father, I crave to turn

Chaos into rule.

Is that a great sin?

 

Can’t the legs, dear Lord,

At least just the legs, become independent?

Just the legs, Holy Father, not the head…

Or is that a great sin?

 

And on a deadly tired moment

Can no adjective be tied to the words

“Am a human”?

Or is that also a great sin?

 

Dear Lord, if a human is a nonbeliever,

To who must he confess his sins?

I long for CONFESSION, Holy Father,

At a price of condemnation

And punishment.

 

Where can I confess

And to who,

Holy Father of Prudence?

…Neither Holy, nor Father….

 

 

 

 

translated by Ani Boghossian

Don’t ask * by Paruyr Sevak

Don’t ask: “Do you love me?”

Just as the blind always remembers his cane,

You too keep in mind

That when questions are not asked in vain

A lie is not answered.

Do not get depressed

But consider

Who, for measuring the dark well,

Would throw her own child in?

 

Don’t ask and I will say

Far more than you request.

 

And I, a believer for a day, am saying

And you listen, my goddess for a day…

A ritual of faith will take place today.

Who needs confessions?

 

You are an unknown new world

And I an experienced explorer

That knows badly, very badly

Your promising terrain.

And in me speaks again

The desperate spirit of discovery.

I want to know you by heart

And trace your map in my mind.

Who needs questions?

 

And isn’t it far better

That a man’s legs stumble

Than his tongue?

So let us not talk

But walk ahead

On this strange road.

Until we reach our target

A magical place,

Where we are the only masters

Where we must be voiceless like water

And blind like fire,

Where unlike the laws we know

Bodies do not expand in heat

But curl up

And all problems are dissolved like salt

Leaving its taste in our mouths,

Inside our nerves,

On our bewildered faces…

 

But then I might ask you suddenly

“Do you love me?”

I shall ask you

Without awaiting an answer,

But to help you gain back   

Your past image of a goddess

Your past image of a world

That had no traced map.

And to my question

You might respond

“They say you only help to unclothe  

But you helped to dress…

You are different,

I love you…”

 

 

 

translated by Ani Boghossian