Why Do You Move Back And Forth? Poem by Peter Mamara

By M. Eminescu (1850-1889)

"Why do you swing forest you,
Without rain, without wind,
And lay one "hand" to the ground
With your branches? "

Why shouldn't I sway
— If my time slips away?
The nights lengthen and it shortens the days.
And it thins out my leaves.

The wind blows the leaves randomly.
And my choirs it chases away.
The wind blows from one side
The winter is here. Summer is distant.

And why shouldn't I drop my leaves?
If the birds fly in flocks, followed by the swallows
Over the top of tiny tree branches,
They carry away with them, my positive side.

They darken the Earth's horizon.
And they leave in rows, flying non-stop.
And they leave like instants
Beating their wings

And they leave me behind
Frail, numb and empty.
So, paired, I could only be
— With my melancholy.

(1883 December)

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