Two Poems from the Bulgarian by Vladislav Hristov

Translated from Bulgarian by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer

if the mouse dies
the cat stops
playing with it
there is a brief moment
before the eating
when the cat
sniffs the mouse
then they are truly
close

умре ли мишката
котката спира
да си играе с нея
има един кратък миг
преди изяждането
когато котката
подушва мишката
в него те са наистина
близки

one by one
we exit the photo
the dog is the last to leave
its tail remains forever
in the next frame

един по един
напускаме снимката
кучето си тръгва последно
опашката му остава завинаги
в следващият кадър

Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 17, Issue 1.

Vladislav Hristov was born on July 23rd, 1976 in Shumen. He is a poet, writer and photographer, and his work has been published in numerous literary magazines. Vladislav is the author of three poetry books, most recently φ (2013). He has received international recognition for his haiku, and in 2012, he was listed as one of the 100 most creative haiku authors of Europe. Vladislav was the originator of the first “Seasons” national contest for photo-haiga. Additionally, he launched the fundraising project “Rice fields—photos and haiku” for relief of victims of the 2011 earthquake in Japan. He lives and works in Sofia.

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer is the author of several poetry books in English and Bulgarian, most recently The Porcupine of Mind (Broadstone Books, 2012, in English) and How God Punishes (ICU, forthcoming, in Bulgarian). She is the editor of The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry (Accents Publishing, 2014), for which she also translated the works of 29 of the 32 included authors. She hosts Accents – a radio show for literature, art and culture on WRFL in Lexington, Kentucky. In January 2010, Katerina launched the independent literary press Accents Publishing.