Eva

Când şarpele întinse Evei mărul, îi vorbi
c-un glas ce răsună
de printre frunze ca un clopot de argint.
Dar s-a întâmplat că-i mai şopti apoi
şi ceva la ureche
încet, nespus de încet,
ceva ce nu se spune în scripturi.

Nici Dumnezeu n-a auzit ce i-a şoptit anume
cu toate că asculta şi el.
Şi Eva n-a voit să-i spuna nici lui Adam.
De-atunci femeia ascunde sub pleoape o taină
şi-şi miscă geana parca-ar zice
că ea ştie ceva,
ce noi nu ştim,
ce nimenea nu ştie,
nici Dumnezeu chiar.

(Lucian Blaga)

Intrarea în grevă a plămânilor

respirăm până când ne ia dracu
şi atunci se cheamă că am murit
primul lucru care-ţi sare în ochi este într-adevar
greva plămânilor
ei stau de parcă ar pândi ceva, de parcă ar ciuli urechea,
nu mai forţează găicile vestei
apoi inima şi celelalte încetează lucrul
ca la o carieră de piatră
nici-un ciocan, nici-o bubuitură,
nici-un ecou;

ce se petrece în acest timp cu sufletul?
greu de spus
dar zău, dacă n-aş da oricât să aflu

(Lucian Avramescu)

Singurul lucru care contează

femeia este singurul lucru care contează
şi afirm asta ştiind că destui
vor strâmba din nas...
pielea ei ştie toate limbile fericirii universale,
lipit de ea, ca de ţărână,
înteleg constelaţiile, raiul şi iadul,
bucuria şi nefericirea;
mersul pe jos prin mine însumi
îmi face din ce în ce mai bine
pentru a nu mai vorbi
de arhitectura sinelui său
care face să pălească marile catedrale ale lumii-
San Piedro, Domul din Milano...

femeia este singurul lucru care contează
cu trupul ei în braţe
poţi traversa un ocean
chiar dacă nu ştii să înoţi
decât în apele ochilor ei

fără femeie
limuzina noastră este o căruţă hodorogită
contul la bancă scade chiar dacă este în creştere
prietenii sunt
plini de pojarul trdării,
în vinul scump mişcă mormolocii

o ai
îţi cântă privighetoarea în coşul pieptului
te îmbraci în haine de puşcărie fericit
cum ai pleca la nuntă,
faci monetarul stelelor pe cer
ca un nabab universal
chiar dacă-ţi fluieră vântul prin găicile sociale:
te calcă trenul
şi o şoaptă dacă ţi-a rămas întreagă
parcurgi literele numelui ei
gata să urzeşti planuri de viitor
când de aproape te pândeşte o morgă de lux

femeia, domnilor, este singurul lucru
care nu poate fi înlocuit decât de sinele său
pielea ei ştie toate graiurile
fericirii universale,
cecul iluziilor
este valuta ei
prin care noi învingem crizele mondiale
iată de ce cred că
ştiinţa ei
de-a ne face fericiţi sau nefericiţi
îi dă dreptul la titlul de
doctor honoris cauza
al complicatei noastre algebre sufleteşti

femeia domnilor - pentru a nu vă plictisi -
femeia cu pielea ei
care ne învaţă alfabetul orbilor,
cu mereu întoarsele ceşti ale sânilor
în care noi nu ghicim niciodată, nimic,
femeia
cu toata argintăria surâsului său
cu goliciunea ei care umple universul
este singurul lucru care contează
domnilor

(Lucian Avramescu)

Looking 4 the Prayer

Attended the Liturgy performed by PS, in a central, overcrowded church – well, a smaller cathedral, compared to the Metropolitan Cathedral. Before entering the building, I see a note on the church etiquette. One of the points there says that each parishioner (church-goer) is encouraged to pick at least one word of advice from the services & sermons, to apply it to their life and then to spread it. What have I picked up from today’s service and sermons? If I pretend for a while not to be thinking too much of how closely some priests resemble politicians when they give well crafted sermons, I suppose I could say that I was somehow moved by PS’s few words when we briefly met, right after the Liturgy. I was approaching him to get some blessed bread, he saw me and said that I should make a wish (and perhaps he should make a wish as well, he added), as today is a glorious feast. I look it up and here is what I find out: November, 25^th: Apodosis of the Presentation of the Theotokos into the Temple.

I can’t help remembering Stalker’s main point: modern people do not know anymore what to ask for. The purely child-like simplicity of the strange aristocracy, spiritualism and wisdom of Orthodox icons (which can bring together profundity and simplicity) has been lost nowadays. And, which is more devastating, we’ve lost the habit of praying – however sad this may sound to some ears. We simply don’t know how to pray – the skies are far too high. I really wonder whether there is a single member of the clergy who can sympathize with this. And a happy ending to this crisis is not easy to find. It isn’t that easy to put up with “the silence of God”, as Swedish director called it. Yet, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom [of Sourozh] said: “We must be prepared for a period when God is not there for us and we must be aware of not trying to substitute a false God. The day when God is absent, when he’s silent – that is the beginning of prayer. Not when we have a lot to say, but when we say to God: I can’t live without you, why are you so cruel, so silent?”

Should it be that all boils down to the nature of our problems, to how deeply we care for our own lives and farewells to life? Perhaps we could somehow mend things past by constantly thinking of our own ends, rather than seeking fun and pleasure…

A fine gift 4 us

End of November gift: our friend, Simona (living in Cleveland now) has visited her elderly parents – for the first time in years, as the way back home seems much longer than the way to the USA. Johnnie Brad (a Romanian immigrant in a 1978 successful western spaghetti parody, Profetul, aurul şi ardelenii) was right: “Bace, uneori îi mai lung drumu’-napoi decât drumu’ pân-aici…”) She left Romania and flew to “The Promised Land”, where she got married and then had a daughter. So, here they are, the three of them, for a couple of days. Thus, we finally came to meet their adorable 6 year old Gabrielle and Simona’s easy-going husband, Decebal. We spent an hour chatting in our apartment then the electricity paralysed all the neighbourhood, so we had to go out to a restaurant – we had planned to do that anyway and the accident only hurried us. We went to “Casa cu Flori” – perhaps the best and finest restaurant in our city: courteous waiting and tasty food. Gabrielle and Theodor got on well by the end of day, when they started to play riddles and interact.

A funny incident: on Wednesday evening Simona phones and let us know they are in town. We fix a day to meet and I say that Friday and Saturday night are out of the question, as we have planned to go to concert then. I go on telling her about the location (“Capitol” hall), an ex-cinema – actually the no.1 cinema in our city for fifty years. And here comes the final blow: I tell her I am really happy about the conversion of that place into a concert hall, as it has been invaded by cheesy American movies only…The next moment I realize I am talking to an American citizen...Silly me – I tell to myself - I’m in big trouble now. The best I can do is rely on Simona’s sense of humour (which was to be of great help), on our long-lasting friendship, and I survive all right: she doesn’t take the offence. Still, I can’t be sure of what might happen next time I make a blunder …