Page 02
Forelskelse
NORWEGIAN
The state of being in love.
I meant to tell you
something ordinary.
Then you looked up
from your coffee,
and the sentence
lost its way.
Orion Saint × IvosArt · Expanded art edition
The Quiet Between Us
A small book of tenderness. Twenty-nine words for being close, with seven paintings by Ivaylo Peytchev.
Page 1 of 31
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Words by Orion Saint. Paintings by Ivaylo Peytchev.
All 31 pages of the illustrated edition, just as they appear in the book.
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The meanings are brief glosses. These original English poems are personal interpretations, not literal translations.
Page 03
Complicité
FRENCH
A shared, often unspoken understanding.
Across the crowded table,
you raise one eyebrow.
I lower my glass
before I laugh.
Nobody else has heard
a word you said.
Page 04
Cafuné
PORTUGUESE · BRAZIL
A gentle, affectionate rubbing of someone’s scalp.
Your fingers move
through my hair.
The day loosens
one small knot at a time.
I had forgotten
how softly it could end.
Page 05
Carezza
ITALIAN
A caress.
Your thumb finds
the inside of my wrist,
where the pulse
is close to the surface.
For a moment,
you can feel me answering.
Page 06
Presenza
ITALIAN
Presence; the fact of being there.
I turn off the lamp.
You are still awake.
We listen to a car
struggle into its parking space.
When it finally stops,
your hand finds mine.
Page 07
Abbraccio
ITALIAN
An embrace; a hug.
We meet in the doorway,
still wearing our coats.
Your bag slips
from your shoulder.
Neither of us
reaches for it.
Page 08
Accueil
FRENCH
A welcome; the way someone is received.
You clear a drawer
without announcing it.
I bring a shirt,
then leave a book.
The drawer sticks.
I learn how to lift it.
Page 09
Douceur
FRENCH
Softness, sweetness or gentleness.
You lower the radio
when I fall asleep.
Rain keeps talking
against the windows.
The rest of the journey
passes under your hand.
Page 10
Нежност
BULGARIAN / NEZHNOST
Tenderness; affectionate feeling.
You turn my collar up
against the wind.
We have been arguing
all the way here.
I stand still
while you finish.
Page 11
Tregua
SPANISH
A truce; a temporary pause in conflict.
You put the bread
between us.
I break it badly,
giving you the larger half.
We are still angry.
We pass the butter.
Page 12
Geborgenheit
GERMAN
A sense of safety and protection.
I wake in a room
I do not recognise.
For one sharp second
everything is strange.
Then you cough in the kitchen.
I close my eyes again.
Page 13
Доверие
BULGARIAN / DOVERIE
Trust in someone’s sincerity and good intentions.
I tell you the part
I usually leave out.
You do not look away.
In the next room,
the washing machine
begins its final spin.
Page 14
Aconchego
PORTUGUESE
Physical or emotional comfort.
There is room for two
beneath this blanket
if we are willing
to fold a little.
Your cold feet find mine.
I pretend to complain.
Page 15
Уют
BULGARIAN / UYUT
Cosiness; a feeling of warmth and comfort.
We move the chair
out of the draught.
The room is smaller
than either of us wanted.
Your socks dry on the radiator.
Mine keep falling off.
Page 16
Querencia
SPANISH
Attachment to a familiar place; also, the place one returns to.
I still take the long road
past the house
where we used to live.
The gate has been painted.
My hand remembers
the old latch.
Page 17
Sobremesa
SPANISH
Time spent at the table after a meal.
The plates are empty.
You draw a circle
in a scatter of crumbs
and begin another story.
Outside, the afternoon
takes its coat and leaves.
Page 18
Patience
ENGLISH
The ability to meet delay or difficulty with calm.
I lose the word
halfway through a sentence.
You let me look for it.
For once,
I do not choose
a smaller thing to say.
Page 19
Hygge
DANISH
Cosy ease and enjoyment of simple, unhurried pleasures.
The bread is a little burnt.
The candles do not match.
Someone has brought
too much cake.
We make another pot of tea.
Nobody checks the time.
Page 20
Amparo
SPANISH
Shelter; protection.
The rain comes sideways.
You pull me beneath
the shop’s narrow awning.
Your shoulder stays outside.
Only later do I notice
which sleeve is wet.
Page 21
Zweisamkeit
GERMAN
Time or life shared by just two.
You read.
I watch the light
move across the floor.
Every so often
you turn a page
and I come back to you.
Page 22
Desvelo
SPANISH
Sleeplessness; loss of sleep.
At three in the morning
you ask if I am awake.
I say yes,
though I was not.
You begin to tell me.
I turn towards your voice.
Page 23
Saudade
PORTUGUESE
Affectionate longing for someone or something absent.
In the market
I find the fruit you love
and reach for two.
All the way home
the second one
rolls gently in the bag.
Page 24
Sehnsucht
GERMAN
A deep, sometimes painful yearning.
Some evenings
I miss a life
we have not lived:
your shoes by the stairs,
a garden after rain,
my name from another room.
Page 25
Attesa
ITALIAN
Waiting; the time spent waiting.
The station clock
has lost a minute.
I check it anyway.
On the platform,
I move my bag
from the seat beside me.
Page 26
Solace
ENGLISH
Comfort in sorrow or distress.
You sit beside me
on the kitchen floor.
The tea goes cold.
There is nothing useful
left to say.
After a while, I drink it.
Page 27
Retrouvailles
FRENCH
A reunion after time apart.
I see you before
you see me.
For a few steps
I have the old luxury
of looking at you
without being known.
Then you turn.
Page 28
Tendresse
FRENCH
Affection shown through gentle words, gestures and attention.
You remember
which cup I like.
I remember
how you take your tea.
We have learned so much
without studying.
Page 29
Оставам
BULGARIAN / OSTAVAM
I stay; I remain.
You ask whether I will stay.
I take off my watch
and set it beside yours.
You move it a little
to make room
for a glass of water.
Page 30
Обич
BULGARIAN / OBICH
Love; deep affection and attachment.
Years from now,
when I try to tell
the story of us,
I may begin with this:
you cutting an apple,
sliding half towards me.
For the things we almost forget to notice.
Expanded art edition · 2026
Paintings: Whisper, First Light, Resonance, Crossing, Bloom in Chaos, Monochrome Study, and Devotion.
Explore Ivaylo’s paintings →