Statue of Ovid

Sometimes I look at old photographs. Today I came across a photo in which I am together with my grandmother from Constanţa. 

I close my eyes. Year 1954. I'm with my grandmother in the Sfatului square. Smells like freshly baked bagels. We take our seats. I look around. My eyes are drawn to a statue. Grandma tells me that it's the statue of Ovid, a famous Roman poet, exiled to Tomis, that the locals welcomed him with open arms. Here, the poet wrote a lot in Latin, but also in the locals' language. He had hoped, until his dying breath, that he will get to see his natal land once again, but was burried in Tomis. 

Flocks of pigeons-

on a statue's face pass

time's shadows

I see myself again in Vișeu, my town, in 1961, reading "Myths and legends of the Ancient Greek".

Years go by. My father got me the book "Metamorphoses" by Ovid. I remember the statue from Constanţa, what I read about Romans and take the book, curious. It was a hardback edition, the book is written in verses and has drawings. Dafne amazes me. It's like I once again see a girl who, instead of hair has foliage, instead of arms has two bloomed branches, instead of feet has roots.

Looking at drawings

with nymphs and Roman gods -

snow over the city

My dad tells me about Ovid, about the life and work of the poet, about "Sorrows" and "Letters from the Black Sea" in which he wrote about getae, our ancestors, and about "Metamorphoses".

Clouds above the sea -

on the poet's face

same sadness

Last photo. In colors. Taken during my last trip to Constanţa. On its other side I have written the words from the statue's pedestal: "Under this stone lies Ovid, the singer of tender love, slain by his own talent. Oh, you, passing by, if you've ever loved, pray for him, for his sleep to be smooth".