Okay. I know you, all of you, my readers don’t like it when I post things that aren’t funny. I can literally hear the yawns the second that I hit the orange “Publish Post” button and you arrive only to discover that what I’ve written isn’t what you expected. Remember that post about that song? Or, my sister’s dog? Yeah, I didn’t think so. You don’t like it when I don’t make you laugh. So, I am giving you fair warning this time: This is post isn’t funny; it’s just a post about POETRY. ( … Cue the clicking sound of people leaving the site en masse.)
Scanning blogs the other day, I come across Fastlad’s site. He has one of Constantine P. Cavafy’s poems, Body Remember …, posted. I love the poem and this surprises me because I don’t usually like what’s “traditionally” (for whatever that means) considered poetry. Too flowery and saccharine. Before Fastlad’s site, I’d never heard of Cavafy. But, after a quick scan of his complete works, I am a little bit hooked.
In addition to Cavafy, Langston Hughes is another poet whose work I admire. His poem, Let America Be America Again, is one of my favorites. By the way, I only recently discovered that Hughes wrote poems for Nina Simone, but that completely explains why a lot of her songs sound like his poetry and vice versa; for example, Simone’s Mississippi Goddamn resembles Hughes’ Go Slow.
Passion. Hughes, like I am, is passionate about the other America, the real America. It’s like Emma Lazarus’ sonnet to the Statue of Liberty … None of us thought the point of the country was to bomb the defenseless abroad and to allow the rich to rape the wage-enslaved middleclass at home. But, I digress. For the love of poetry and further to the point about passion, I leave you with the original Greek and the English translation of Cavafy’s poem, Body Remember …
Θυμήσου, σώμα…
Σώμα, θυμήσου όχι μόνο τό πόσο αγπήθηκες,
όχι μονάχα τά κρεββάτια όπου πλάγιασες,
αλλά κ’εκείνες τις επιθυμίες πού γιά σένα
γυάλιζαν μές στά μάτια φανερά,
κ’ετρέμανε μές στήν φωνή— καί κάποιο
τυχαίον εμπόδιο τις ματαίωσε.
Τώρα πού είναι όλα πιά μέσα στό παρελθόν,
μοιάζει σχεδόν καί στίς επιθυμίες
εκείνες σάν νά δόθηκες— πώς γυάλιζαν,
θυμήσου, μές στά μάτια πού σέ κύτταζαν,
πώς έτρεμαν μές στήν φωνή, γιά σέ, θυμήσου, σώμα.
Translation:
Body, Remember …
Body, remember not only how much you were loved,
not only the beds on which you lay,
but also those desires which for you
plainly glowed in the eyes,
and trembled in the voice — and some
chance obstacle made them futile.
Now that all belongs to the past,
it is almost as if you had yielded
to those desires too —remember,
how they glowed, in the eyes looking at you;
how they trembled in the voice, for you, remember, body.
Constantine P. Cavafy (1918)
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow. I love poetry too. And although I like a whole range of it, I do like what you refer to as the “flowery” stuff. Sorry. I even wrote my own version of Daffodils. Haha. I took a poetry unit this semester and we had to deal with a lot of confroting stuff. So I retreated into Anne Sexton. Mad women trapped in cookie cutter lives…that’s my thang.
Btw, loved the poem you posted.
I’ve never really loved poetry…I have my faborites, but I never branched out. That IS a very beautiful poem. And you know what? Greek is really pretty to look at! I studied the Greek one before moving on to the English!
I love it when you make us laugh, but non-humorous posts give us a better insight into the real you. I like it.
That is a wonderful poem. Both romantic and somewhat erotic at the same time. Have you ever read Pablo Neruda? I had a professor in college obsessed with him and I read quite a bit of Neruda’s work as a result. My favorite is “Tonight I Can Write…” It’s sappy and sad, but it spoke to me when I was 20.
Stols, I’m with you on the poetry. My misgivings about poetry is that the imagery and references are often too personal to the poet for us to gleam much meaning, for us to play the literary interpretation game and learn from his or her writing.
Having said that, I’ve rediscovered my fondness (not love, but fondness) for poetry as I finish my National Novel Writing Month project. (No, this isn’t a plug for my NaNo. :-) It would be sorta chintzy of me to link to my NaNo blog just to drive hits to it from your blog.)
I have always had a fondness for T.S. Eliot (especially The Waste Land), but as I introduce each chapter with a portion of a poem (something about, say, the month of January for the chapter entitled “January,” for example), I’ve come across some beautiful stuff.
(No, I am not so well-read that I can recall poems that mention each of the months just off the top of my head. I have Bartleby to thank for that. LOL)
One I liked so much that I actually posted it on my NaNo blog, although none of the others has made it:
I am renewed by death, thought of my death,
The dry scent of a dying garden in September,
The wind fanning the ash of a low fire.
What I love is near at hand,
Always, in earth and air.
-Theodore Roethke, “The Far Field”
beautiful that is pretty much all i have to say and that i love poetry and really enjoy all of your posts
missbhavens: Greek is pretty isn’t it? I took a *TINY* lesson in Greek. I know the alphabet, but I can’t really read or write anything.
MamaChristy: Thanks for sharing the Pablo Neruda poem. I haven’t read much of his stuff, but I should. Something tells me that I’d like it.
Andy: Is your NaNo blog live? If so, email me to let me know if I can I see it … Thanks for sharing the Roethke poem, by the way.
Anonymous: Glad you like the poem and welcome to the Blog!! :)
Ahhhhhhhh….such a beautiful poem. I will tell you that it flows beautifully and does something different to me in Greek than it does in English…I’m sorry to those readers who cannot read and truly understand the Greek…Lost in translation is a truth….
Thanks for posting that… i’m a lurker, but I guess you posted something to finally make me speak. It just took a little bit of Greek to get me out of my “comment to funkybrownchick’s Blog” Lurkiness….
~G
Touching poem by Cavafy.
yeah, not much of a poetry person myself, but i understand what you mean about not liking the ‘usual’ poetry stuff. the only poetry i’ve become hooked on is stuff by Alexandr Pushkin, a famous Russian guy. I think that certain poets allow you connect in some way to what they write and it’s def a personal thing as to which poet’s work appeals to you. i’m so tired and making no sense…
Body Remember is very beautiful all the same…
~Glykia: YAY!!!! Yet another one delurked. :) Everyone say hi to Glykia
(crowd says:) *** HI GLYKIA!!***
It’s always better to read works in their original language. I posted both versions because somehow I just *knew* a reader or two could read Greek.
JohnJEnright: Glad you like it!! :)
little a: “I think that certain poets allow you connect in some way to what they write and it’s def a personal thing as to which poet’s work appeals to you. You know, that’s a very very good point! :)
This is post isn’t funny; it’s just a post about POETRY. ( … Cue the clicking sound of people leaving the site en masse.) lol sorry, that was funny ;)
The poem you posted is very nice. :)
Hey Jamie,
Thanks! :) And, glad you liked the poem.
i totally skipped over this post … man, what a LOVELY poem! i am certainly going to remember it for a while to come.
thanks for sharing, stolie. i ADORE translations – i’m a google translation freak – you are a woman after my own heart ;)
_
miss anon: I’m glad that you like it. I discovered it on Fastlad’s site. I was excited about the discovery because the poem is great AND I like Fastlad’s site.
I am Greek and I love the poetry of Kavafis. He is my favorite. I suggest you to read more from Greek poetry and particularly poetry by tasos leivaditis. You will love him.
I am sorry for kavafi. I wanted to write cavafy.
Thank you!!!!
Thanks for suggesting Tasos Leivaditis. I’ll check it out! :)