Alternative maths (Altă matematică) - Nichita Stănescu

We know that one times one makes for one,
but an unicorn by a pear
we don't know how much they make.
We know that five without four is worth one,
but a cloud without a ship
we don't know how much it's worth.
Yes, we know that eight
divided by eight gives one,
but a mountain divided by a she-goat
we do not know what gives.
We know that one and one add up to two,
but of me and you
we do not, oh, we don't know what we add up to.

Aye, but a quilt
multiplied by a rabbit
adds up to a ginger girl, for sure,
a cabbage divided by a flag
gives a pig,
a horse without a tram
is worth an angel,
a cauliflower plus an egg
makes for an astragalus...
Only you and me
multiplied and divided
added and subtracted
still remain the same...

Vanish from my mind!
Return back into my heart!

Added by: vasysm

Translator: Vasile Andreica
Language: English


see more poems written by: Nichita Stănescu



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