Mihaela Cristescu (Romania/Australia) was born in Romania in 1970 and emigrated to Sydney, Australia, in August 2009. She holds a B.Eng. in Power Plants, a B.A. in Literature, and a Master’s degree in Linguistics. Her literary work has been published in seven volumes of poetry and prose and has appeared in Australian magazines such as ZineWest – Western Sydney Writers, Cordite Poetry Review (an Australian and international journal of poetry, criticism, and research), and Double Dialogues – Arts Journal (a multidisciplinary journal exploring contemporary issues in politics, society, and culture). Cristescu has been a Guest Editor of ZineWest for the past ten years and serves as the Editor of the Romanian-Australian Anthologies of Poetry and Prose, including Pounding the Pavement (2016), On the Wallaby Track: A Journey Across Memories (2017), Romanian/Australian Perspectives: Between Dusk and Dawn (2018), Romanian/Australian Arguments: Avant La Lettre (2019), 9000 Miles Away (2020), Stay a While (2021), Street Musicians (2022), Dancing Dragons (2023), and Seasons (2024).
English
BEFORE SPRING COMES
Before spring comes
sounds will fade through silence
and I will touch things thinking of wheels –
the perfect circles of love
rolling into the old road
of beginning.
Still raining for now
I am checking the quotes in a book brought from overseas
hoping they would remind me of your place
of the greatest Greek City of Priam and his treasure:
wearing it, digging it, dreaming it
so I can feel his ear trouble
Sophia, Sophia, Sophia
as they say, Schliemann did not discover Troy
but enter its gates fearfully.
Before spring comes
in good and in bad,
in sickness and in health
the perfect circles of love
rolling into the old road
of beginning.
Translated by the poet
Romanian
ÎNAINTE DE A VENI PRIMAVARA
Înainte de a veni primăvara
sunetele se vor estompa prin tăcere
și voi atinge lucrurile gândindu-mă la roți -
cercurile perfecte ale iubirii
rostogolindu-se pe vechiul drum
de început.
Încă plouă acum
recitesc povești dintr-o carte adusă de peste mări și țări
sperând că îmi vor aminti de locul tău,
comoara din orașul lui Priam:
purtând-o, săpând-o, visând-o
să-i simt durerea de ureche
Sophia, Sophia, Sophia
după cum se spune, Schliemann nu a descoperit Troia
dar a intrat cu frică pe porţile ei.
Înainte să vină primăvara
la bine sau la rău,
bonav sau sănătos
cercurile perfecte ale iubirii
rostogolindu-se pe vechiul drum
de început.