Today is the birthday of the great Romanian poet of light, Lucian Blaga (May 9, 1895 - 1961). From his 1919 debut volume of poetry Poemele luminii - the ‘title’ poem:
The Light
.
The light I feel
streaming in my breast when I see you,
is that not a drop of the light
created on the first day,
that light which thirsts for life?
.
Nothingness lay dying,
as the impenetrable one, hovering alone in the dark,
gave a sign:
Let there be light!
.
An ocean
and a raging storm of light
arose in an instant:
a thirst for sins, desires, longings, passions
a thirst for light and sun.
.
But where did it go, that blinding
first light – who knows?
The light I feel
streaming in my breast when I see you – wondrous one,
may be the last drop
of the light made on that first day.
(my translation - original here…)(Visit Lumpy Pudding for another Blaga poem, Quietude)
