"A Man"

"A Man"

While fighitng for his country, he lost an arm
and was suddenly afraid:
'From now on, I shall only be able to do things by halves.

I shall reap half a harvest.
I shall be able to play either the tune
or the accompaniment on the piano,
but never both parts together.
I shall be able to bang with only one fist
on doors, and worst of all
I shall only be able to half hold
my love close to me.
There will be things I cannot do at all,
applaud for example,
at shows where everyone applauds.'

From that moment on, he set himself to do
everything with twice as much enthusiasm.
And where the arm had been torn away
a wing grew.

~ Nina Cassian, 1924
translated by Roy MacGregor-Hastie