Billy Collins: Two poems about what dogs think (probably)

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Miloš Milosavljević

I don't know if you've noticed,

Ne znam da li ste primetili

but there's been a spate of books

ali postoji hrpa knjiga

that have come out lately

koje su skoro izašle

contemplating or speculating

i koje razmišljaju ili spekulišu

on the cognition and emotional life of dogs.

o kogniciji i emocionalnom životu pasa.

Do they think, do they feel and, if so, how?

Da li misle, da li osećaju, i ako to rade, kako?

So this afternoon, in my limited time,

Ovog poslepodneva, u svoje ograničeno vreme,

I wanted to take the guesswork out of a lot of that

želeo sam da izbacim nagađanje iz dosta toga

by introducing you to two dogs,

tako što ću vas upoznati sa dva psa,

both of whom have taken the command "speak"

koja su komandu "pričaj" shvatili

quite literally.

prilično bukvalno.

The first dog is the first to go,

Prvo će nastupti prvi pas

and he is contemplating an aspect

i on razmišlja o aspektu

of his relationship to his owner,

veze sa svojim vlasnikom,

and the title is "A Dog on His Master."

i naziv je "Pas o svom gospodaru".

"As young as I look,

"Koliko god izgledam mlado,

I am growing older faster than he.

starim brže od njega.

Seven to one is the ratio, they tend to say.

Kažu da je odnos sedam naspram jedan.

Whatever the number, I will pass him one day

Koji god da je broj, jednog dana ću ga prestići

and take the lead,

i preći u vođstvo,

the way I do on our walks in the woods,

kao u našim šetnjama po šumi

and if this ever manages to cross his mind,

i ako mu ova poruka ikada padne na um,

it would be the sweetest shadow

biće to najlepša senka

I have ever cast on snow or grass."

koju sam ikada bacio na sneg ili travu."

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

And our next dog

Naš sledeći pas

speaks in something called the revenant,

govori kao povraćenik,

which means a spirit that comes back

što je duh koji se vraća

to visit you.

da bi vas posetio.

"I am the dog you put to sleep,

"Ja sam pas kojeg si uspavao,

as you like to call the needle of oblivion,

kako ti nazivaš iglu zaborava,

come back to tell you this simple thing:

vraćam se da ti kažem ovu jednostavnu stvar:

I never liked you."

nikada mi se nisi dopadao".

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

"When I licked your face,

"Kada sam lizao tvoje lice,

I thought of biting off your nose.

pomišljao sam da ti odgrizem nos.

When I watched you toweling yourself dry,

Kad sam gledao kako se brišeš peškirom,

I wanted to leap and unman you with a snap.

želeo sam da skočim i da te u sekundi lišim muškosti.

I resented the way you moved,

Prezirao sam način na koji se krećeš,

your lack of animal grace,

tvoj nedostatak životinjske gracioznosti,

the way you would sit in a chair to eat,

kako sediš u stolici da jedeš,

a napkin on your lap, a knife in your hand.

sa salvetom u krilu i nožem u ruci.

I would have run away

Pobegao bih

but I was too weak,

ali sam bio previše slab,

a trick you taught me

to je trik kome si me naučio

while I was learning to sit and heel

kada sam učio da sedim i budem k nozi,

and, greatest of insults,

i najveća od svih uvreda,

shake hands without a hand.

da se rukujem bez ruku.

I admit the sight of the leash would excite me,

Priznajem da bi me prizor povoca uzbudio,

but only because it meant I was about to smell things

ali samo zato što bi to značilo da mogu da pomirišem stvari

you had never touched.

koje ti nikad nisi dotakao.

You do not want to believe this,

Ne želiš da veruješ u ovo,

but I have no reason to lie:

ali nemam zašto da lažem:

I hated the car, hated the rubber toys,

mrzeo sam automobil, mrzeo sam gumene igračke,

disliked your friends, and worse, your relatives.

nisam voleo tvoje prijatelje, i još gore, tvoje rođake.

The jingling of my tags drove me mad.

Zveckanje moje ogrlice me je izluđivalo.

You always scratched me in the wrong place."

Uvek si me češkao na pogrešnom mestu.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

"All I ever wanted from you was food and water

"Od tebe sam samo želeo hranu i vodu

in my bowls.

u mojim činijama.

While you slept, I watched you breathe

Dok si spavao, gledao sam te kako dišeš

as the moon rose in the sky.

dok se mesec dizao na nebu.

It took all of my strength

Morao sam da se trudim celim bićem

not to raise my head and howl.

da ne uzdignem glavu i zavijam.

Now, I am free of the collar,

Sada više nemam ogrlicu,

free of the yellow raincoat,

nemam žutu kabanicu,

monogrammed sweater,

džemper sa inicijalima,

the absurdity of your lawn,

nema apsurdnosti tvog travnjaka

and that is all you need to know about this place,

i to je sve što treba da znaš o ovom mestu,

except what you already supposed

osim onoga što si već pretpostavio

and are glad it did not happen sooner,

i što ti je drago što se nije ranije desilo,

that everyone here can read and write,

da ovde svi mogu da čitaju i pišu,

the dogs in poetry,

psi poeziju,

the cats and all the others

a mačke i svi ostali

in prose."

pišu prozu.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)