The Upper Flow of Rivers

By Libuse Cacalova

“The Upper Flow of Rivers”, as the title poem suggests, leads us through an exploratory journey from the barnyards of Moravia through the “landscapes” of Europe’s tragic
20th century into the passionate embrace of the pensive nature of America’s North . The poet directly addresses the reader (“Wait, fellow man!” ) to join her in the journey. Searching for the meaning of our existence is endless and is not limited by our place of birth, nor can it be silenced by exile.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 28, 2009
• ISBN: 9781469124094

Libuse Cacalova

Libuse Cacalova (married name Burjetka), author of several collections of contemplative lyrical poetry, is professionally a counseling therapist. She was born in Mikulov, Czechoslovakia. Three years after graduating from Masaryk University in Brno with a degree in psychology, and after realizing that she could not reconcile the fundamental differences between her striving for creative truth and freedom and that what the Communist regime had to offer, she left Czechoslovakia for the USA in 1977. She has made upstate New York her second home and lives there with her husband and daughter. Published Books: Touches, Executions and Resurrections, The Chord of Love, The Kingdom of Pebbles, The Upper Flow of Rivers ============================= Vera Borkovec is an Emerita professor from American University in Washington, DC. She has taught poetry, written poetry and translated poetry. After her retirement from AU’s Department of Language and Foreign Studies, she has devoted herself exclusively to literary translation (mainly poetry and dramatic works). For her translations from the Czech she was awarded in 2003 the Artis Bohemiae Amicis Medal by the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic. Published Books: The Kingdom of Pebbles, Czech and Slovak Theatre Abroad, The Taste of a Lost Homeland, What if Ogden Could Speak Czech, The Voices of Birds and other Plays by Josef Topol, The Upper Flow of Rivers

Book preview

HORNÍ TOKY ŘEK

by Czech poet

LIBUŠE ČAČALOVÁ

THE UPPER FLOW OF RIVERS

English translation by

VĚRA BOŘKOVEC

A Bilingual Edition

Published by SVU Washington DC

Copyright © 2009 by Libuše Čačalová and Věra Bořkovec.

Cover Art by Irena Altmanová

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 10/17/2018

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table of Contents

Translator's Note

Acknowledgments

Horní Toky Řek

The Upper Flow Of Rivers

Vnorovské Humno (Janu Skácelovi)

The Vnorov Barnyard (To Jan Skácel)

Hlas

Voice

Pokora Hlíny

The Humility Of The Earth

Ozvěny

Echoes

Proč Je Nám

Why Are We

Duben

April

Úděl

Our Lot

Laň

The Doe

Samaritánka U Studny

A Samaritan At The Well

Jinoch Z Moravy

A Youth From Moravia

Svátek

Holiday

Kámen A Víno

Stone And Wine

Pastýřská

A Shepherd’s Song

Ohlédnutí

A Backward Glance

Cesta Smrkovým Lesem

A Path Through A Forest Of Firs

Rostoucí Samota

Growing Loneliness

Maminčin Portrét

Portrait Of Mother

Tajemný Host

A Mysterious Guest

Jaromírovi (Jaromíru Tomečkovi)

For Jaromír (To Jaromír Tomeček)

Alegorie Žízně

Allegory Of Thirst

Sochař Žákům

A Sculptor To His Pupils

Intuice

Intuition

Vyznání (Zdeně A Moravě)

Confession (To Zdena And Moravia)

Milenci A Réva

Lovers And The Vine

Neznámá Bohyně

The Unknown Goddess

Prapříčína

Prime Mover

Tak Trošku O Pravdě

A Little About The Truth

Anně