Akka Ballenger Constantin is a poet, photographer and artist who describes herself as a “dreamer with a camera and a pen”. When she was 6, her father gave her her first 35mm camera. It was love at first sight. This poem was written in English and Romanian, the latter being Akka’s mother tongue.
I never told you – Nu cred ca ti-am vorbit vreodata
About the silence and the mountains waiting still.
Despre tacere si despre muntii care ma asteapta
Nu cred ca iti voi spune – I never told you and perhaps I never
will.
About the droughts and rains – Sau despre secete si gustul ploii
Ce cade ne-ncetat pe fete arse de dogoarea aurie
Of rain kissing the faces burned by golden glow.
De fiecare spic – each ear of wheat, sau despre Plaiul Foii
I’m gonna write a letter with all that you should know.
Despre copacul meu – I never told you of my special tree
Tucked in the middle of a hidden forest, by the stream.
Si cum fugeam s-aud povesti – About the times when I was running
free
To hear the stories from my elders and their dream.
© Akka Ballenger Constantin, 2017
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