An Apple Orchard
written by: Janina Osewska
translated by: Karol Chojnowski and Desmond Graham
I remember every apple-tree
I was able to climb
up there in the branches
was freedom and feastday
with a liturgy of smells and sensations
the stickiness of resin and the taste of apples
greenish-purple leaves
hearing confession
a time for relief
like a branch yielding fruit to the grass
today I am going back down
the steps of a ladder of days to that orchard
deeper
and deeper
Sad Jabłkowy
written by: Janina Osewska
pamiętam każdą jabłoń
na którą udało się wspiąć
na górze pomiędzy konarami
czuło się wolność i było święto
z liturgią smaków i zapachów
lepkiej żywicy i malinówek
zielonopurpurowe liście
przyjmowały spowiedź –
nastawał czas ulgi podobnej tej
gdy gałąź oddaje owoc trawie
dzisiaj po szczeblach dni
schodzę do tamtego sadu
coraz głębiej
i głębiej
Published four volumes of poetry: ‘W stronę ciszy’ (Eng. ‘Towards silence’, 2003), ‘Do czasu przyszłego’ (Eng. ‘Until the time to come’, 2007), ‘Tamto’ (Eng. ‘That’, 2015) and ‘Niebieska chwila’ (Eng. ‘Blue moment’, 2017). Her poems were published in numerous journals in the country and abroad. She has participated in international literary festivals in the US, Ireland and Lithuania. Her poems have been translated into English, German, Lithuanian, Czech and Ukrainian. She is a laureate of a Grand Prix (2004) and an award (2005) in the International Poetry Competition in the US. She was also shortlisted at Stokestown International Poetry Prize in Ireland in 2015. In 2017 she was granted a creative scholarship of the Podlaskie voivodeship marshal.
She is also engaged in photography.
She was born and lives in Poland (Augustów).
- Puddles - July 28, 2019
- Morning - July 2, 2019
- On The Terrace - May 12, 2019