Vaclav Pinkava

As a transparent marketing ploy, and, in festive mood, to draw your attention to the relaunch of our partner website, Transitions Online, I am relaunching my column under a new identity: "Kaleidoscope."

Not very original, you might think. To add a dash of originality, here is my translation of my father's poem on the subject. Enjoy the transitions.

The Kaleidoscope Roundel

through the eyepiece transfiguring,
transient, vivid pictures sway
as the world, from which sufferings spring
passes pretending on its way

a train of triumphs and decay
like water o'er stones wavering
unsteady, jostling, staggering
transient vivid pictures sway

time's wind blows, fields uncovering
choosing a tree or two to slay
with no fixed point, meandering
thoughts flowing through our mind's display
calm, lucid dreams we're measuring -
transient, vivid pictures' sway.

Jan Kresadlo

Translated by his son, Vaclav Pinkava, 12 July 1999

The new Transitions Online is set for a relaunch on 21 July.