Deaf Things

I neither wrote nor translated this piece, and wish I could have done either. It is from the anthology of Serbian poetry translated by Charles Simic, The Horse Has Six Legs. If you don't read any other book of poems this year, read this one. The following is an excerpt (Stanza 10) of the poem Deaf Things by Momcilo Nastasijevic.

(10)
Pain
so it turned black

I want, since it happens,
for this wound
to be living to its depths.

Out of this hell
for a breath of some paradise -
out of this sin
for someone to become a saint.

For this suffering
and muddle
to have no end.

For the sake of that grace,
forever, this curse.