Ruth O’Callaghan

Chronicle

...On some days a plash of oars
breaks the sleek of water

and a ripple will rim towards us
eddying outwards in ever fainter circles

as history, once so delineated,
pales into uncertainty

under layers of time, of stories, told,
re-told, Chinese whispers

that hang in the air, re-defining dynasties,
empires, the cartographers’ art

begun in playgrounds where children edge
blues and reds, making squares triangles

in cheap colouring books,
so occupied with such small tasks

that the unseen oarsman
—had you forgotten him?—

rounds the bend while beyond,
where willows sweep the water

and shadows under trees remain motionless,
hanks of mist unravel

like sleeves of shop girls reaching out
in the narrowing of the day.

Liviu Martinescu

Ruth O’Callaghan

Cronica

..Sunt zile cand vaslele
sparg scurt catifeaua apei

o unda valureste spre noi
si mai departe, in unde-fiice

asa si istoria,candva precisa
defalcata, acum destramata

sub straturi de timp, povestiri
reluate mereu, soapte chinezesti

suspendate, redefinind dinastii,
imperii, a cartografilor arta

inceputa-n gradinite, pe
carti ieftine de colorat umplute

cu rosii, albastre figuri geometrice,
atat de prinsi de fleacuri

ca nevazutul luntras
- cum, l-ati uitat?--

ia cotul riului de dincolo,
unde salciile mangaie apa

iar umbrele copacilor stau nemiscate,
halci de ceata se desfac evantai

ca manecile fetelor-vanzatoare
intinse spre raft in a zilei fanta.