4 Poems Translated by Wioletta Polanski

to agnieszka osiecka

laments

why write them

mourn

shed tears forcefully

she is gone

she lived

and departed

it’s clear

she won’t run after maggie

the fool – 

she’s gone

and maggie

well

must wise up

Legnica, 7.03.97

*

to anna jantar

life itself writes scripts

sometimes longer

and

sometimes shorter …

Warsaw, 14.03.05 

*

to halina poświatowska

awakened by an early breeze

throbbing yearn – 

you seek to relish the day

you admire familiar landscapes

recognizing the role of a flawless

woman

the heart’s utopia

carries on

playing – 

with an erratic rhythm

the end 

it stopped

*

to lilka pawlikowska

oh, woman in tulle de Paris

“nubian lady from the beyond”

bathed in droplets of blooming cornflowers

say hello to god

Original Poems by Rafał Podraza

agnieszce osieckiej

treny

po co układać

rozpaczać

na siłę łzy wyciskać

odeszła

była

minęła

fakt

nie pogoni małgośki

co taka głupia – 

odeszła

a małgośka

no cóż

musi sama zmądrzeć

Legnica, 7.03.97

*

annie jantar

samo życie pisze scenariusze

czasem dłuższe

a

czasem krótsze …

Warszawa, 14.03.05

*

halinie poświatowskiej

obudzona wczesnym powiewem

bolącym westchnieniem – 

próbujesz cieszyć się dniem

podziwiasz znajome pejzaże

wczuwasz się w rolę kobiety

bez wad

utopia

serca trwa

jeszcze gra – 

rytmem niestałym

koniec 

przestało
*

lilce pawlikowskiej

kobieto w tiulach prosto z paryża

“nubijko zaświatowa”

skąpana w rosie kwitnących bławatków

pozdrów boga

Wioletta Polanski is a higher education professional and a translator of Polish and English (ATIA). Born and raised in Poland, she holds two MA degrees, in Translation Studies, and in Art & Design/Humanities Computing, both from the University of Alberta. Wioletta’s research interest encompasses the life and work of Magdalena Samozwaniec, the Kossak Family phenomenon, translation history, Holocaust memory, and popular women’s literature. Her work was published in TranscUlturAl: A Journal of Translation and Cultural Studies, Studies in Translation – History and Theory, Studies in Translation – Cultural and Linguistic Issues in Translation, and TransLit: An Anthology of Literary Translation.

Rafał Podraza is a journalist, poet, and songwriter. He made his literary debut in a local Polish newspaper “Polska Miedź” in 1986. Since then, he has published five volumes of poetry and several books. Two of his books, “Magdalena, Córka Kossaka (“Magdalena, the Daughter of Kossak”) (2007) and “Wojciech Kossak” (2012) influenced the renaissance of Magdalena Samozwaniec’s work. He has also written texts about the icons of Polish popular music and about forgotten Polish female athletes. He is the founder and publishing director of Oficyna R. He also writes a column in the “Prestiż” and “Na Żywo” magazines.