Vaporul vechi cu două roţi uriaşe
Pluteşte pe sub poduri, prin oraşe,
Licori albastre, galbene, verzui
Pe puntea lui spălată, sorb dudui
Si cavaleri în frac cu mov joben
Ţinând de zgardă bile din eben:
Rotunde, roşii, cu desen subţire,
Ovale, verzi, cuprinse-n negre fire,
Cu clopoţei, cu ciucuri, cu lumini,
Cu trandafiri pictaţi, cu flori de crini,
Cu valsuri, cu parfum de liliac,
Chineze, cu dragoni şi vârcolac,
Franceze, cu perechi dansând gavote,
Barbare, cu imagini vizigote,
Si doamnele, ce râset ţes pe punte
Si cum dezleagă pălării şi funte
Când trec deşerte cheiuri şi palate
Cu monştri la fereşti iluminate.
Atunci, în noapte, când se schimbă garda
Aprind vedenii bilele şi zgarda
Iar domnii cu joben, încinşi în frac
Atoateştiutori, surâd şi tac,
Iar doamnele mai tare râd şi sorb
Cafele din felgean de fildeş orb. |
The ancient steamer’s giant wheels draw furrows
Beneath high bridges as she floats through boroughs.
Damsels and beaux in tails, with mauve top hats,
Upon the clean-washed deck indulge in chats,
And sip clear liquids, greenish, yellow, azure,
While holding ebony balls in leash at leisure:
Some round, some red, exquisitely designed,
Some oval, green, by deep-black threads entwined,
With little bells, with tassels, and with light,
With painted rose, with lily-flower white,
With waltzes, with a wisp of lilac scent,
Chinese, with dragons and the werewolf’s dent,
French, with young pairs in a gavotte of froth,
Barbarian, with scenes of Visigoths –
And, oh, the ladies, how thei laugh on deck,
How they untie their bonnets at the neck
While sailing past deserted palace basements
With monsters showing in the lighted casements.
Then at the changing of the guard, at night,
The balls and leash strike many a ghastly sight.
In tail-coats and top hats, the beaux, unstirred,
Smile omnisciently and speak no word,
At wich the ladies’ laugh the louder rolls
While they sip coffe from blind ebony bowls. |