Only Yesterday

Liliana Ursu
Translated from the Romanian by Adriana Oniță

it seems like only yesterday I crafted the poemkneeling in the solitude of my room, sowing starsyesterday’s dress with its cherry blossomsyesterday’s basket of pomegranatesand a young body racing against the seait seems like only yesterday: the hunting rifleand you, a child, rowing,scared of the great river as if it were a bearyou, who left long ago,protected the pigeon, tucked inside your white shirtwings fluttering against your heart,while carrying a backpack filled with still-warm quails,the hunted prey of your fatheryou, a child,struggling to hide the pigeonunder your white shirt, the one sewnby your mother in the almond groveyou, trying to save a small lifethe life of a pigeonthe sky, and all its starsCa Ierica ieri facerea poemuluicând îngenuncheam în singurătea odăiiși semănam steleca ieri rochia cu flori de cireșcoșul cu rodiiși trupul tânăr la întrecere cu marea,ca ieri pușca de vânătoareși tu, copil la vâsle, speriat de marele fluviuca de un urs.tu din care ai plecat de multcu atâta iubire ferind sub cămașa albăporumbelul zbătându-se chiar pe inima tași-n spate cu rucsacul plin cu prepelițe calde încă,vânatul tatălui,și tu,copil luptând să ascunzi porumbelulsub cămașa albă cusută de mama în livada cu migdali,tu, încercând să salvezi o viață cât de mică,o viață de porumbel cât tot cerul cu stele.

Feature Date

Series

Selected By

Share This Poem

Print This Poem

headshiot in balckck and white of Liliana Ursu

Liliana Ursu is an internationally acclaimed poet, prose writer, and translator born in Sibiu, Romania. Ursu has published over a dozen books in Romanian, the most recent of which is Cartea paşilor (Spandugino, 2023). Her work has been translated into many languages, including in English: Clay and Star (Etruscan Press, 2019), A Path to the Sea (Pleasure Boat Studio, 2011), and Lightwall (Zephyr Press, 2009), which won the 2009 PEN Southwest Book Award for Translation and was a finalist for the PEN USA 2010 Literary Award in Translation. Ursu, who has been awarded Romania’s rank of Knight of Arts and Literature, has received two Fulbright grants and taught creative writing at the University of Louisville and Bucknell University. She lives in Bucharest.

Adriana Onita headshot
Photo:
Shawna Lemay

Adriana Oniță is a poet, artist, educator, researcher, and translator, creating across English, Romanian, Spanish, French, and Italian. She is the author of Misremembered Proverbs (2023) and Conjugated Light (2019), two multilingual chapbooks blending poetry and visual art. Her work has been recognized with the Canadian Literature Centre Poetry Prize and a shortlist for the CBC Poetry Prize. With a PhD combining language education and arts-based research, Adriana founded The Polyglot, publishing more than 220 writers and artists experimenting with over 60 Indigenous and heritage languages. Currently, Adriana serves as editorial director for the Griffin Poetry Prize and divides her time between Canada, Italy, and Romania. Discover her poems, translations, and research at adrianaonita.com.

Cover of Issue 74 of Hayden's Ferry Review

Issue 74

Tempe, Arizona

Arizona State University

Managing Editor
Tucker Leighty-Phillips

Poetry Editor
Maritza Estrada

Founded in 1986, Hayden’s Ferry Review is a semi-annual, international literary journal edited by the MFA students at Arizona State University. Work from Hayden’s Ferry Review has been included in the Pushcart Prize Anthology, Best American Poetry, and Best New Poets. HFR has notable pieces in Best American Short Stories, Best American Essays, Best American Mystery Stories, and the Pushcart Prize Anthology.

Hayden’s Ferry Review looks for well-crafted work that takes risks, challenges readers, and engages us emotionally and artistically. A small portion of our publication is solicited from established authors, while the majority of our contributors are chosen from the thousands of manuscripts we receive each year.

Poetry Daily Depends on You

With your support, we make reading the best contemporary poetry a treasured daily experience. Consider a contribution today.