There is currently an art challenge on a Xena board where I hang out, prompted by a comment that Xena and Ares were "like a moth to a flame". The obvious question was who is the moth and who is the flame -- and the rather obvious answer was both. So the challenge was to create a montage/collage/artwork on this topic.
However, on the way to the visual centre of my brain, this challenge took an unexpected detour -- and so I came up with a poem. A very short, delibereately simplistic one, but I confess I enjoyed it. Actually, I enjoyed it perhaps a little too much, because in a fit of masochism, I decided to try translating it into Russian.
It sure ain't Shakespeare, but hey, there's a reason I keep this diary in English. Anyway, you be the judge. Feel free to point out any grammatical errors.
The original:
THE MOTH AND THE FLAME
Like a flame to a moth,
Like a moth to a flame,
I call you to my light,
You call me to your games;
And the harder the struggle,
The sweeter the call,
And the further the ground,
The longer we fall --
Yet we fly. And the sparks
That rise orange and red,
Turn to stars the scorched dust
From the wings that we shed.
The translation:
Мотылёк и пламя
Как к свече мотылёк,
Как свеча к мотыльку...
Ты зовёшь меня танцем,
Я светом зову.
Чем сильнее борьба,
Тем и зов тот нежней,
И чем дальше земля,
Тем паденье страшней --
Но летим. И как звёзды
Искрится, как пламя,
Золотая пыльца
С крыльев, сброшенных нами.
Tango