The Nail

Notes

Bela Chekurishvili's poem "The Nail" depicts the themes of displacement, home, and diasporic experiences. The nail holds a dual significance in the poem, symbolizing both a domestic object and the suffering and despair of the crucifixion. It represents the idea of finding a place to call home and to belong. Additionally, the nail can be used to hang a coat, which adds to the domestic imagery in the poem.

During the translation process, we debated the best English word to use for the Georgian word "sweetheart", ultimately deciding on "beloved" as it better conveyed the poet's sense of endearment. We also simplified the line "where you are always awaited, your home is there" to "Your home is where you are always expected". As for the gender of the narrator's student child, we chose to leave it unspecified, using the phrase "my student child laughs".

Finally, we had a productive discussion about the last two lines of the poem. We decided to change the bridge translation of "And nobody would dare to tell me: ‘this is not its place’ …/That ‘never again’ to the more straightforward and effective "nobody will ever dare to tell me that ‘this is not its place’…/Never again.”

- Leo Boix