My Shadow
a verse translation
A poem by Lajos Szórádi translated by Joe Váradi
If my shadow came to life
and rose
She could stand
As I lay in sweet repose
If I shut the lights
She’d still be there
If I took a bath
She’d bob and float light as air
Tremble for me were I aghast
Lift me up gently once I passed
and in her arms carry me away at last!
With thanks to DiAmaya Dawn, A Maguire
This was a fun challenge. The original literally reads “If my shadow were colorful.” This doesn’t convey quite the same mood in English, I racked my brain and settled on “came to life and rose”, which evokes both a color and an action. The source language, Hungarian, doesn’t have gender pronouns, so I made an artistic choice to designate the shadow female.
Árnyékom
Ha színes lenne az
árnyékom
Állhatna helyettem
S én feküdnék a pázsiton
Ha lecsuknám a villanyt
Õ akkor is ott lenne
S ha fürödnék a víz
Felszínén lebegne
Ha félnék helyettem remegne
Meghalnék felemelne
karjába venne és úgy vinne!
