‘If I were spring,’ and other poems by Mihaela Dragan

Quinces.

Quinces seem to come from fairy tales.
People even think of them as aliens,
neither round nor oval
neither glossy nor trivial
not too dry and not too mellow
but Lord, how they are handsome!
They bring the Sun into a home
dusty and drowsy,
as if it had slept quietly among them!

Cats

What if, overnight,
after a cup of cocoa with milk,
we all wake up,
mewling and whiskered?

Crackling our jaws
arching our backs
becoming cats.

Better than humans?

Sunrise

The cool sunrise, suddenly
caused my heart to shudder.

It seemed that cricket songs
were slowly drilling into my soul.

All day long, in summer,
they surround me with their ardour,

their birds’ wings spread into the air,
flapping, moving since dawn,

tempestuous!

If I were spring,

If I were spring -
I would disguise myself without much ado
as a beautiful swallow,

I would chirp
 among the cheerful kids,
     weaving from the sweetest sun rays
     brought by the light blessing of the Zephyr,
my cheery, noisy song.
Which I would like, as expected,
the cherry trees to ascertain.

       Or,
          better yet!
I would disguise myself
      as a flowery pencil box
      to sneak into your desk.
And there, I would whisper in a soft voice
hidden behind the arm of your compass
that spring dwells next to you,
 
                       one step away!

Mihaela Dragan was born in Bucharest. She has dreamt of becoming a writer since she was a child. She was a primary school teacher for 10 years between 1986-1996, during this time she attended the University of Bucharest and obtained her degree in history and philosophy. Afterwards, She studied Law, changed her profession and became a member lawyer of the Bucharest Bar Association (1996). She loves poetry and visual arts equally finds inspiration in images that impress her through bold choices of colours, textures or composition. She has two wonderful daughters who chose to study abroad. With her newly found free time, she took on a new challenge to improve her creative skills and to dedicate more time to writing.

If I were spring and other poems were written and translated by Mihaela Dragan