In the aquarium by Georges Rose, translated by Bryan Flavin


 
 

The moray eel
slips from its hole

as if
without bruising itself
it slipped from its body

as if
without losing itself
it slipped from the universe

just as we slip
from our flesh and world
through death

 
 
 

Born in Paris, where he resides today, writing has always occupied a special place for Georges Rose—from poetry to stories, books, essays, and theater. To date, he has around thirty published works, of which many have been awarded. Alongside his writing, Rose holds a Ph.D in Ethnology and practices various studies and hobbies, such as ecology, mountaineering, and Tai Chi—all of which influence his poetry.

These poems, coming from a larger collection originally titled Rivages, is Rose’s first English translation from the original French. A translation in Greek will be released this year for a different collection, and Rose is thrilled to see his work accessible across different languages and cultures.

Bryan Flavin is an emerging poet and translator from Springfield, Missouri and a graduate from the University of Iowa, where he studied Linguistics, French, Arabic, and Translation. His original writing and translations have been published in Ink Lit Mag, The Translate Iowa Project, Z Publishing, and Tupelo Quarterly. He currently resides in Missouri with the intention of moving to and working in Shanghai in the coming months.