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“Seagull” by Vladimir Levchev

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The Season of Delicate Hunger

At dusk on the beach—
elders in white with long shadows—
the seagulls stride
and chat.

We don’t know their language.
But we listen.

The sea arrives as in a dream
and announces something dramatic.

We don’t know the languages
of the wind, of the sunset, of the stars.
But we listen.

As children
we played broken telephone.
Someone whispers words in your ear,
you try to decipher them
then whisper the message to someone else.

We don’t know the first word.
But we listen.

That’s how we create
parallel worlds.

–Vladimir Levchev, 
translated from the Bulgarian
by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
The Season of Delicate Hunger:
Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry
(Accents Publishing)

Vladimir Levchev was born on October 17th, 1957 in Sofia. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia, and holds an MFA in creative writing from American University, Washington, D.C., where he was a Fulbright scholar. He is the author of 15 books of poetry, two books of essays, and three novels. Additionally, Vladimir has translated works by Allen Ginsberg, Stanley Kunitz and other American poets into Bulgarian. He is currently a professor of literature at the American University in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.

“Justice for All” by Vladimir Levchev

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The Season of Delicate HungerWhen a poor man begs
on the corner—
it’s a disgrace.
When a rich company
begs on the phone—
it’s a marketing strategy.

If the poor man sends someone
to kill a bad neighbor—
it’s a crime.
If the president sends his troops
to kill a bad neighbor—
it’s liberation.

The rich man can buy a senator.
The poor man can
buy the rich man’s newspaper
and read
about the senator.

Yes, the rich kid goes to law school.
Yes, the poor kid
sells drugs on the corner.
And there is justice for all!

.            Washington 2006

-Vladimir Levchev, 
translated from the Bulgarian
by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
The Season of Delicate Hunger:
Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry
(Accents Publishing)

Vladimir Levchev was born on October 17th, 1957 in Sofia. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia, and holds an MFA in creative writing from American University, Washington, D.C., where he was a Fulbright scholar. He is the author of 15 books of poetry, two books of essays, and three novels. Additionally, Vladimir has translated works by Allen Ginsberg, Stanley Kunitz and other American poets into Bulgarian. He is currently a professor of literature at the American University in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.