Authority

I am interrupting the sequence of Muldoon translations to post my translation of a poem by the poet Shira Stav, for her birthday. This poem is from Slow Tongue, her first collection of poems which appeared last year.


It's just one of those days, Shira. Happy birthday.

Authority / Shira Stav Sometimes I struggle to shift into first when the light changes to green like back then when puberty didn't arrive until the end of ninth grade (and who knows, that might yet save me from cancer) and meanwhile the horns all around to high heaven and sweat gathers in the folds and the smell of failure fills the car warm vapor covers the windshield a herd of giraffes stampedes down the road, raising clouds of dust, causing a commotion, when I curse goddammit recall how I was weeping, frightened behind the closed bathroom door, I swear to God I no longer believed it would come, and how I became like any other, a seeded child. And I arrest my breath and labor to exert authority over the finger stumps, to concentrate, and push and shift into first, and drive, drive, with the river of cars, under the sun.

מרוּת / שירה סתו

לִפְעָמִים קָשֶׁה לִי לְהַכְנִיס לְרִאשׁוֹן
כְּשֶׁהָרַמְזוֹר מִתְחַלֵּף לְיָרֹק
כְּמוֹ פַּעַם כְּשֶׁהַבַּגְרוּת הַמִּינִית
הִתְעַכְּבָה עַד סוֹף כִּתָּה ט'
(וּמִי יוֹדֵעַ אוּלַי זֶה עוֹד יַצִּיל אוֹתִי מִסַּרְטָן)
וּבֵינְתַיִם כָּל הַצּוֹפָרִים מִסָּבִיב עַד לֵב שָׁמַיִם
וּפַלְגֵי הַזֵּעָה נִקְוִים בַּקְּפָלִים
וְורֵיחַ כִּשָּׁלוֹן מְמַלֵּא אֶת הָרֶכֶב
אֵדִים חַמִּים מְכַסִּים אֶת הַשִּׁמְשָׁה
עֵדֶר גִ'ירָפוֹת שׁוֹעֵט עַל הַכְּבִישׁ,
מַעֲלֶה עַנְנֵי אָבָק, מְחוֹלֵל מְהוּמָה
כְּשֶׁאֲנִי מְקַלֶּלֶת כּוּסְסְאֶמֶק 
נִזְכֶּרֶת אֵיך יִלַּלְתִי מְבֹהֶלֶת
מֵאֲחוֹרֵי הַדֶּלֶת הַסְּגוּרָה שֶׁל הַשֵּׁרוּתִים,
בֶּאלֹהִים שֶׁכְּבָר לֹא הֶאֱמַנְתִּי שֶׁזֶּה יַגִּיעַ,
וְאֵיך נַעֲשֵׂיתִי כְּכָל הָאָדָם,
יַלְדָּה זְרוּעָה. וַאֲנִי כּוֹלֵאת
אֶת הַנְּשִׁימָה וּמִתְאַמֶּצֶת לְהַטִּיל מָרוּת
עַל גִּדְמֵי אֶצְבְּעוֹתַי, לְהִתְרַכֵּז,
וְדוֹחֶפֶת וּמַכְנִיסָה לְרִאשׁוֹן,
וְנוֹסַעַת,
נוֹסַעַת,
עִם נְהַר הַמְּכוֹנִיּוֹת, תַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ.