Es gibt nichts Gutes, außer: Man tut es. |
Erich Kästner (23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974)
And I'll dance with you in Vienna I'll be wearing a river's disguise The hyacinth wild on my shoulder, My mouth on the dew of your thighs . . . |
Doctrine
Beat the drum and don't be afraid,
And kiss the sutler!
That is the whole science,
That is the deepest meaning of books.
Drum the people out of their sleep,
Drum Reveille with the vigour of youth,
Always march ahead drumming,
That is the whole of science.
That is Hegel's philosophy,
That is the deepest meaning of books!
I have grasped it because I am clever,
And because I am a good drummer.
Heinrich Heine (13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856)
Digging
Between my finger and my thumbBobby Sands (9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) |
I rolled over again freezing and the snow came in the window on top of my blankets. Tiocfaidh ár lá' (Our day will come), I said to myself, Tiocfaidh ár lá. [Final diary entry]
Alack what poverty my muse brings forth,
That having such a scope to show her pride,
The argument all bare is of more worth
Than when it hath my added praise beside.
O blame me not if I no more can write!
Look in your glass and there appears a face,
That over-goes my blunt invention quite,
Dulling my lines, and doing me disgrace.
Were it not sinful then striving to mend,
To mar the subject that before was well?
For to no other my verses tend,
Than of your graces and your gifts to tell.
And more, much more than in my verse can sit,
Your own glass shows you, when you look in it.
* knowing I would be fighting with a deadline, I went back to April 23rd, 2014, copied and pasted, updated the years, and voilà.
This small anthology of poetry in Spanish makes me looking forward to July 19th when the following will be published: Surveying a poetic continent. |
Cuando sale la luna se pierden las campanas y aparecen las sendas impenetrables.* |
Claude, February 2020 |
A MAN MUST FACE HIMSELF
I hung two sealskins on my wall....
Some people say
'Oh! the poor dear things!'
with pity in their hearts,
while chewing bloody steak
and cuddling in fur coats.
And I think of **
Jonahsie
magnificently himself: a Man,
hunter by destiny
spearing the seals,
with no guilt in his soul,
no pity in his heart,
but beaming pride
that his day-work was done:
the best for his kin---
and that's all he could do...
And I think of
Kakee, his wife,
cleaning, stretching, smoothing, sewing the skins
with a skill
as old as the Woman called Eve,
and bringing me the gift
with beaming pride:
the best for a friend---
and that's all she could give...
And I wonder why
we worry about who eats whom
when Life is a cycle?
We all prey, and we grow
feeding on each other.
A seal
a breathing tomato
an egg that could be born
a drink of pure water
a flower for a vase
some grass to walk upon
the warmth of the sun, of a smile, of a body
a poem for a soul
and stars to fill a dream.
I hung two sealskins on my wall...
A Man must face himself
and accept it!
Claude Prévost Gamble
(June 1970)
** And I think of Claude who died today two years ago.
Thanks for all. De tout coeur!
Claude during a storm on Moose River, whilst working as a nurse at an Indian hospital; James Bay, Winter 1955 |
Dice la tarde: "Tengo sed de sombra!" Dice la luna: "Yo, sed de luceros." [...] Says the afternoon: "I'm thirsty for shadow!" Says the moon: "I want stars." |
Federico García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936)
Yaşamak bir ağaç gibi tek ve hür
ve bir orman gibi kardeşçesine,
bu hasret bizim.
To live like a tree and at liberty
and brotherly like the trees of a forest,
this yearning is ours.
Nâzım Hikmet (15 January 1902 – 3 June 1963)
. . . |
Friedrich Hölderlin (20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843)