István Korponai – To Sarolta

 

I dwell within the memories of my dreams,
And seek the secret of your ancient wild rose bloom.
Enthralled, I stand immersed within the jewelled shade you cast,
Whose overflow has reached the deepest chambers of my heart.

*

Tell me, beloved–who are you?

Where your golden feet have passed, the lilies rise;

Their fragrance shines–behold! I have found you at last,

And yet we stand upon this sorrow–laden earth.

*

For you are the fountain of virtue, of fire,

Of longing and of rapture's sweetest flame.

Without you, life is but a wound of torment,

And all my fears ascend like pillars carved from marble.

 

In the clouds, wounded angels

Fall before my soul.

The gods themselves have painted

Your face before my eyes;

And loving drops of rain

Embrace your tender breast.

*

Trees bending in the storm

Recall the grace of your sensual hips.

I pursue you endlessly within myself,

From waking unto fading,

From anguish unto bliss.

*

For now, my lady, you are my companion

Among all women.

You grant refuge to me, the lost one,

As in a shattered, abandoned, long–forgotten graveyard

The yellowed veins of ancient limestone shelter still

The body of Christ upon the Cross–

The body of Christ upon the Cross.