Glenday, John: Strážca ohňa (The Matchsafe in Slovak)

for AN
 
If you must carry fire, carry it in
your heart – somewhere sheltered but hidden,
polished by hands that once loved it.
 
The lining may be scorched and blackened
but only you must ever know this.
That easy hush you sometimes hear at night
 
as the darkness stirs in you, is not
the accustomed ache of blood, but a flame
shivering against the wind –
 
a meagre flame seeded long before you were born
which you have always known must be kept
burning forever, and offered to no one.

pre AN
 
Ak oheň niesť musíš, v srdci
ho nos – kdesi pod ochranou ale skrytý,
rukami leštený, ktoré ho kedysi milovali.

Podšívka môže byť spálená a sčernalá,
ale to vedz len ty sám.
To ľahké ticho, ktoré občas v noci počuješ

keď sa tma v tebe rozvíri, nie je to
obvyklá bolesť krvi, ale plameň,
ktorý vo vetre chveje sa -

chudý plamienok kresaný predtým, než narodil si sa
o ktorom vždy vedel si, strážiť ho musíš
večne horiac, a neprenosne.[1]