Autumn Trees (Őszi fák)

a seasonal verse translation

source

a poem by Lőrinc Szabó, translated by Joe Váradi

Autumn Trees

I saw you, dear limb, when you were
a newborn still!
The chestnut trees outside
as tall as my window sill:
by the window, in azure of spring
cheered by your green swings and dips,
your every tiny leaf wrinkled still,
like a newborn’s delicate fingertips.

You are wrinkled even now, chestnut branch,
wrinkled once again,
rattling like old paper or skin
as the wind stirs you now and then,
through the window
beams your golden glow,
even as half your treasure
whips about down below.

Your myriad little hands
beam when the sun shines bright
each one clutching the tree,
setting the final moments alight:
you’re exquisite! And no matter how
lost in the mire,
your ravishing beauty, your defiance
I do admire.