Diana Poem by Peter Mamara

by M. Eminescu (1850-1889)

What are you doing there, where the moon
Glows over a swell of spring-water,
And, where the contending birds are present
— With a chirping sound.

The leaves whisper in the forest-clearing
Like voices of people…
Don't you hear how these kiss
And play with each other in the forest's shade?

Do you want to watch weird games
In that moving mirror,
Of forever moving waters,
Under your eye, being focussed on the same spot?

Springtime came to the forest,
There is new life in any chirp.
And like Endymion, the young man,
Only you think astray.

Why do you want a mysterious sound
— Of the water stream, and of loneliness?
Don't you hear how the forest beats its foliage
So you could fall asleep to the back on a green bedspread?

And a quiet goddess shall appear
Through the soft light,
Coming out of cold waves and soft shade,
With her large eyes and bare shoulders.

Oh! A fair and friendly face,
With a tall and skinny body,
With white little hands
Which now bend tree branches.

She goes proudly hunting for a doe
— With a golden bow on her shoulder.
And she almost hasn't left a trace
— Over the countless leaves.

(1884 February the 1st)

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