Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Shota Iatashvili

ELEGY

A very sad vehicle
Stopped in the street.
On worn-out tyres
It stopped for a few minutes,
Then the tired-out headlights
Lit up the night’s deserted asphalt,
It pondered something for a few seconds,
It dithered.
The lorry finally dragged itself off
And tottered off
In a vague direction.

I stood there,
Leaning against a tree,
And I wanted
To yell out at it,
“Wait a moment, wait, friend!”

But “vehicle No. NIN101”
I just said to myself
And for some reason
I memorized for the rest of my life
This name and
The look and
The sluggish motion.

ELEGIE

Een intrieste auto
hield halt in de straat.
Een paar tellen steunde hij
op zijn uitgetelde banden,
gooide daarna met zijn lome koplampen
wat licht op het verlaten asfalt van de nacht,
overlegde even,
aarzelde,
trok uiteindelijk zijn zware koffer weer op gang
en sleepte zichzelf voort
in een onduidelijke richting.

Ik stond vlakbij
met mijn rug tegen een boom geleund
en ik wou hem toeroepen:
‘He, wacht even, vriend!’

Maar ‘NIN 101’
was alles wat ik kon uitbrengen
en ik weet niet waarom
maar voor altijd bleven
zijn naam,
zijn uitstraling
en zijn onhandige bewegingen
in mijn geheugen hangen.

ელეგია

ძალიან სევდიანი მანქანა
გაჩერდა ქუჩაში.
დაქანცულ საბურავებზე
ძლივს იდგა რამდენიმე წუთი,
მერე გამოღლილი ფარები
მიანათა ღამის უკაცრიელ ასფალტს,
რამდენიმე წამი რაღაცაზე ფიქრობდა,
ყოყმანობდა,
აითრია ბოლოს საბარგული
და გაჩანჩალდა
გაურკვეველი მიმართულებით.

მე ვიდექი იქვე,
ზურგით მიყრდნობილი ხეს,
და მინდოდა
`მოიცა, მოიცა მეგობარო!’ -
დამეყვირა მისთვის.

მაგრამ NIN 101
ჩავილაპარაკე ჩემთვის მხოლოდ
და რატომღაც
სიცოცხლის ბოლომდე დავიმახსოვრე
ეს სახელი და
იერი და
უნიათო მოძრაობები.
Close

ELEGY

A very sad vehicle
Stopped in the street.
On worn-out tyres
It stopped for a few minutes,
Then the tired-out headlights
Lit up the night’s deserted asphalt,
It pondered something for a few seconds,
It dithered.
The lorry finally dragged itself off
And tottered off
In a vague direction.

I stood there,
Leaning against a tree,
And I wanted
To yell out at it,
“Wait a moment, wait, friend!”

But “vehicle No. NIN101”
I just said to myself
And for some reason
I memorized for the rest of my life
This name and
The look and
The sluggish motion.

ELEGY

A very sad vehicle
Stopped in the street.
On worn-out tyres
It stopped for a few minutes,
Then the tired-out headlights
Lit up the night’s deserted asphalt,
It pondered something for a few seconds,
It dithered.
The lorry finally dragged itself off
And tottered off
In a vague direction.

I stood there,
Leaning against a tree,
And I wanted
To yell out at it,
“Wait a moment, wait, friend!”

But “vehicle No. NIN101”
I just said to myself
And for some reason
I memorized for the rest of my life
This name and
The look and
The sluggish motion.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère