PRAISE TO THE MAN

by Nichita Stanescu


From the trees' point of view,
the sun is a stripe of warmth,
the men - an overwhelming emotion ...
They are some walking fruit
of a much greater tree!


From the stones' point of view,
the sun is a falling stone,
the men are a mild pressure ...
They are movement - attached to movement,
and the light one sees from the sun!


From the air's point of view,
the sun is an air full of birds,
beating wing against wing ...
The men are unseen-of birds,
their wings grown inside,
beating, fleeting, gliding,
in a more pure air - that's the thought.



(Translated from Romanian by Brigitta Daniela Buda)