Sunday, February 17, 2013

Letting it breathe



  

  As in a glass hive my soul moved inside me,
          a joyful bee-swarm
  that, secretly increasing, seeks to release into the trees
          its grapelike cluster.

  And I felt the earth was crystal beneath my feet,
          the soil transparent,
  for the strong and peaceful bodies of ancient plane trees
          rose up around me. 





  There the old wine was opened for me, smelling rich
          in the oaken jar,
  as mountain scents when the cool night dew
          falls on the bushes.






















Angelos Sikelianos
  [fragment]
Edmund Keeley and
  Philip Sherrard, translation
The Greek Poets
op. cit.



5 comments:

  1. Another gorgeous fragment. (Again, "shared" on Facebook, almost against my will; too exactly beautiful and to my taste not to.) I so appreciate the introduction to this poet.

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    1. He is very fine and it is a pleasure to participate in a rediscovery which many hundreds of others seem to be enjoying with us today. But an indispensable teacher from my college days and in the present is behind all this in our language; his name is Edmund Keeley. Thank you for confiding your demand for fine writing; among other things, it gives me a vacation. :)

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  2. Replies
    1. Among other things, you give me inspiration.

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    2. :) you give me inspiration - have a good weekend. Midterm here and a luxurious one week off with plenty of time to see friends :)

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