WINTER 06: Konstantin Pavlov
Konstantin Pavlov is one of Bulgarias leading poets. His poems, as well as his screenplays, have been banned periodically by the former Soviet Union. During the late 70s and early 80s his work earned several international awards. However, his 1983 poetry collection Old Things lead to renewed censorship of his work. Pavlov's collected works were published in 2002.
Ludmilla G. Popova-Wightman has translated Cry of a Former Dog, by Konstantine Pavlov, Forbidden Sea , by Dimitrova (with E. Socolow), and Frost-Flowers, by Alexander Shurbanov. Her translations of individual works have also been published in Partisan Review, The Literary Review, and the New York Review of Books.
English translations follow each poem.
СТЪПКА ПО СТЪПКА
Полицаят който ме следеше (тайно)
стъпка след стъпка, стъпка след стъпка
(всяка моя стъпка -
настъпена с негова стъпка) -
неотклонно -
без да се оглежда -
неусетно за себе си
изненадан до себепогнуса -
без надежда за отстъпление -
влезе в Рая -
като в капан!
А сега затворете очи
и наострете ушите си. . .
Какво чувате?
Точно така. -
В Рая не цвърчат пойни птички -
цвърчат тайни агенти.
1992
Step by Step
The policeman, following me--
(stealthily!)-
step by step, step by step)-
(covering each of my steps with his step)-
steadily-
without looking around-
without being aware of it-
surprised and disgusted-
without hope of retreat-
entered Paradise-
a trap!
And now: close your eyes
and prick up your ears . . .
What do you hear?
Precisely.-
No song birds chirp in Paradise,
only secret agents twitter.
КАПРИЧИО ЗА ГОЯ
Няма го вече стария ужас -
зверски цялостен
и зверски безкраен,
без гримаси и без остроумия.
Ужасът си променя характера -
тупа ме свойски по рамото,
снизходително ме ухажва
и кокетничи с представата за себе си:
„Ние с тебе сме еднакво силни,
ти си само малко по-красив. . ."
И ми се усмихва.
Ах, особено усмивката го прави гаден,
извратен го прави
и налудничав.
И ме дави непозната гадост.
Сякаш ме целуват похотливо
бебета с мустаци и бради.
1962
Capriccio for Goya
The old terror--
brutally whole,
brutally endless--
without posturing and wit,
is gone.
The terror is different now--
intimate, it pats me on the shoulder
condescending, it courts me
and flirts with its own image,
"We are equally strong, you and I,
you are smarter maybe . . . "
And it smiles at me.
Ah, it's the smile that makes it so revolting,
makes it perverted
and crazy.
I feel sick with a revulsion
as never before.
As if babies with beards and mustaches
were kissing me lasciviously.
© 2006 Ludmilla G. Popova-Wightman, Konstantin Pavlov
"Side by Side" is from the collection Murder of the Sleeping Man.
The poem "Capriccio for Goya" was published in the book by the same name. Used here with the permission of both author and translator.
