Through my aunt's house the ants' road passes,
that ancient road mentioned in the Oriental chronicles.
The ants climb from the neighbor's garden along a cranny in the wall.
In the bathroom they waltz on the white and blue tiles.
...
Abăluţă Constantin ( Bucharest , 1938 . October 8 -) Romanian poet, prose writer and translator. 1964 in his debut as a poet. A lot of work has been spent on Romanian Thomas Roetke , Frank O'Hara , Wallace Stevens and Dylan Thomas works. Architecture studied in Bucharest in 1961 at the latest. 2007 since he is the Romanian PEN Club President-center.)
The Ants' Road
Through my aunt's house the ants' road passes,
that ancient road mentioned in the Oriental chronicles.
The ants climb from the neighbor's garden along a cranny in the wall.
In the bathroom they waltz on the white and blue tiles.
They traverse the laundry box, the wall, and once in the dining room
march clockwise, for three turns
on the round mirror's gilt frame.
Then they disappear.
Maybe they take an escape route.
Or maybe the road simply ends there.
Or has the delta of the Oriental chronicles become
my aunt's mirror?
Translation: Alexandra Fenoghen / John Irons