Signature

Using the lamp on the windowsill

he could see the empty house,

the house he had lived in.

He could feel his way around 

with the help of the wind

which was gently touching 

all the things he’d ever touched.

He could hear with the weight of the earth

(now that he felt a weight had been lifted).

His heart was pounding in a bird

high in the sky.


I’m so vast!

He called out, satisfied


and his voice caused ripples on the water,

like an indecipherable signature.


Marin Sorescu was a Romanian poet and playwright twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He published over twenty books of poetry. For more information, see fundatiamarinsorescu.eu/en.

Daniel Carden Nemo’s work has appeared in RHINO, Full Stop, Magma Poetry, Off the Coast, Dream Catcher, Brazos River Review, and elsewhere. He is the founder and editor of Amsterdam Review. For more information, see www.danielnemo.com.

Marin Sorescu trans. Daniel Carden Nemo

Daniel Carden Nemo’s work has appeared in RHINO, Full Stop, Magma Poetry, Off the Coast, Dream Catcher, Brazos River Review, and elsewhere. He is the founder and editor of Amsterdam Review.

https://www.danielnemo.com/
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The Sting of Empty Bitterness and its Pleasure

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That Night, We Walked along the Dan River