ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 28

JK/NKK 28
tsa:lun chu vuzamalà tà traTai,
tsa:lun chu mandinyan gaTàka:r     |
tsa:lun chu pa:n-panun kaDun graTay,
hètà, ma:li, santu:S va:tiy pa:nay     ||

Patience is to endure
thunder and lightning,
patience is (to bear) darkness
at midday.
Patience is being ground up
in the mill.
Be content, dear,
it will come
by itself.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 98

JK/NKK 98
dama:dam kôrmas daman-ha:le,
prazàlyom di:ph tö naneyam za:th     |
andaryum praka.S nèbar tshôTum
gaTi rôTum tà körmas thaph     ||

I slowed the breath
in the bellows-pipe,
the lamp blazed brightly
and showed me my Self.     |
The inner light shone forth,
and in the darkness
I seized it,
and held it tight.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 80

JK/NKK 80
za:nà ha: na:Didal manà röTith,
tsöTith vöTith kuTith kli:S     |
za:nàha: adà astà rasa:yèn göTith,
Siv chuy kru:Th tày tsen vvapàdi:S     ||

Had I known
how to control
the inner pathways
with the mind,
tearing, binding, and cutting
the kleshas (obstacles to Yoga),
then I would have known
how to prepare
the magical elixir.
Shiva is hard to attain,
so take heed.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 52

JK/NKK 52
tsèttà tvarag gagànà bramà-vôn,
nimiSì aki tshanDi yu:zanà lach     |
tsaitanya vagi bvadi ra:Tith zôn,
pra:n apa:n sandö:rith pakhàcy     ||

The mind-steed speeds
through the sky,
covering a hundred
thousand leagues
in the blink
of an eye.
One who is wise
grasps the reins
of consciousness,
clipping the wings
of prana and apana.

Note: Prana and apana are upward and downward flows of vital energy, corresponding to inhalations and exhalations of the breath.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 51

JK/NKK 51
pavan pu:rith yus ani vage,
tas bva na: spa:rSi nà bvachi tö treS     |
tiy yas karun antiH tage,
samsa:ras suy zèyi nech     ||

One who can
control the mind
by controlling the breath,
that one
will not be touched
by hunger and thirst.
One who can do this
up to the end,
fortunate is their birth
in the world.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR GB101

GB101
dihaci lari da:ri-bar troparim,
pra:nà-tsu:r roTum ta dyutàmas dam     |
hridayici kyu:Thàri-andar goNDum,
omaki cobàka tulàmas bam     ||

I closed the doors and
windows of my body,
I seized the prana-thief
(breath) and controlled him.
In the jail of my heart
I tied him up,
and I whipped him
with OM.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

A page from my notes on the Kashmiri text of Lalla's poems

The above photo is a page from my notes on the Kashmiri text of Lalla's poems. There are about thirty of these pages, most of them equally densely marked with my corrections and notes. When I recently took the project up again (I like to think that it was at Lalla's own urging), I was amazed at the huge amount of preparatory work I had already done, years earlier. I had done so much, in fact, that you'd think I could just turn the crank and spit the translations out. Lalla, though, saw to it that it would never be that simple, either for me or for anyone else. Apart from being a fine poet, she was an amazing spiritual teacher. I may have the roughly 150 poems of the planned collection translated within a few months (at this pace, I will), but I'll still have years of work to do.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 62

JK/NKK 62
gya:nà ma:rg chay ha:kà vö:r,
dizès Samà-damà krayi pöny     |
lam-tsakrà pôS prö:ny krayi dö:r
khènà-khènà mvatsiy vö:rày chany     ||

The path of knowledge
is a kitchen garden,
water it with actions
based on meditation
and self-restraint.
The LAM chakra is the
(sacrificial) beast,
prior actions the gate,
and as it eats,
the garden is left bare.

Note: This is one of the hardest of Lalla's poems to interpret. Most of the interpretations involve the burning of the the karma of past actions (which may indeed come into it), but they lose sight of the subject in the first line: gya:nà marg, which is the knowledge-path. In Yoga philosophy, three main paths are recognized: that of knowledge (gyana, often written as jñana), that of action or work (karma), and that of devotion (bhakti). But here we are talking about the path of knowledge, and it is not to be confused with wisdom (pragyana), to which it may lead. So what is cultivated in this "garden" (which in Lalla's symbolic language often means the cerebrum or the sahasrara "thousand-petalled" chakra which is above it)? Facts, quotations, definitions, technical terms, maybe even poetry--all derived from a lifetime of study. This knowledge is there to sustain us. But this peaceful picture is interrupted by KuNDalini:, the "serpent-power" that lives in the muladhara (basal) chakra, also known as the LAM chakra because of its seed-sound. She wanders up to the garden through the "gate," which represents the sushumna pathway that is analogous to the spinal cord. When she gets to the "garden," KuNDalini: "eats" (supersedes, blows away) all the book-learning that has been cultivated there. "The garden is left bare." The sustenance of all the book-learning that was cultivated is gone, but it has been replaced by something much better.

Another example of Lalla's use of this kind of symbolic language can be seen in JK/NKK 130, translated in this blog in an entry of October 5 2016.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 15

JK/NKK 15
ha: manaSi kya:zi chukh vuTha:n sèki lavar
ami ràkhi ha: ma:li pakiy na na:v     |
lyu:khuy yi na:rö:ny karmàni rakhi
ti ma:li hèkiy phi:rith na ka:nh

O fellow Human,
why are you twisting
a rope of sand?
This line, good Sir,
will not move
your boat.
The line that God
has written in your karma,
that, good Sir,
cannot be changed
by anyone.

Note: There are different interpretations of this poem (as well as textual variants). Some believe that the "rope of sand" represents man-made, formal religion. Alternatively, it may just refer to our own poor efforts to safely cross the river or ocean of embodied existence. To some, the last part of the poem suggests predestination, but I don't believe that Lalla meant it that way. The "line" that God has written into our karma is also a life-saving "line," and that cannot be changed or taken away by anyone, though we are free to reject it.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 22

JK/NKK 22
ra:jas bö:ji yemy kartal työ:ji,
svargas bö:ji chuy taph tà da:n     |
sahazas bö:ji yemy gvarà-kath pö:ji,
pa:p-pvany bö:ji chuy panànuy pa:n     ||

He enjoys the kingdom
who gives up the sword.
He enjoys heaven
who does penance and charity.
He enjoys the Supreme
who follows the guru's word.
The enjoyer of the fruits
of evil and virtue
is one's own self.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 24

JK/NKK 24
gvaras pRtsha:m sa:si laTe,
yas nà kenh vana:n tas kya: na:v     |
pRtsha:n pRtsha:n thacis tà lu:sàs,
kenhnas niSe kya:hta:m dra:v     ||

I asked the guru
a thousand times,
That which cannot be described,
what is Its name?
Asking and asking,
I grew tired
and worn out.
From that Nothing,
Something came.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 49

JK/NKK 49
yuh yi karm karà pètàrun pa:nas,
arzun-barzun bèyis kyut     |
antiH la:gi-rôst puSirun sva:tmas,
adà yu:ry gatshà tu:ry chum hyôt     ||

Whatever my actions,
their burden is mine,
though their fruits
be for others.
In the end I offer them
without attachment
to the Self,
and wherever I go,
it is beneficial to me.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ 

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 8

JK/NKK 8
a:yas kami diSi tà kami vate,
gatshà kami diSi kavà za:nà vath     |
antiH da:y lagimay tate,
chanis phôkas ka:nh ti no sath     ||

From which direction
did I come, and
by what road?
In which direction
shall I go, and how
know the path?
In the end, may I
receive right guidance
to take me there.
There is no substance
in an empty breath.

Note: It is clear that Lalla is telling us the importance of a trustworthy guide (called "gu:ru" in the Indian tradition). What is not so clear is how to interpret "There is no substance (nothing true or real) in an empty breath." Some have interpreted this to mean that controlling the breath (to which she refers elsewhere) is not enough. Grierson pointed out (page 61) that we are to think of our life as one breath. It is subject to illusion (ma:ya), but in Kashmiri Shaivism it is not thought of as unreal, but rather part of the Divine, as are we. But I am inclined to the view that she meant empty words, not backed up by experience. Fortunately, I am only a translator, and do not have to decide among the various interpretations.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 6

JK/NKK 6
kya:h karà pa:ntsan döhan tà ka:han,
vvakSun yath lyaji yim körith gay     |
sö:riy samàhan yith razi lamàhan,
adà kya:zi ra:vihe ka:han ga:v     ||

What shall I do with
the five, the ten, and
the eleven?
They have all
scraped out the pot.
If they had all pulled
together on the rope,
then the eleven
would not have lost
the cow.

Note: The "five" are the five elements of earth, air, fire, water, and vacuity. The "ten" are five motor-nervous system organs (karmendri:yas) plus five senses of perception (gya:nendri:yas). The "eleven" are these ten plus the mind, which supposedly controls them. They are here visualized as masters of a single cow, which is the spiritual self with its aspirations regarding realization of the Supreme. When the cow is being pulled in many directions by these eleven masters with their individual ropes, the "pot" (either the physical body or its head) is "scraped out" by all of them (loss of energy, vitality, and concentration occurs), and the "cow" is lost, which would not have happened if all these sensory "masters" had been working together, pulling in the same direction.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ  

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 14

JK/NKK 14
ha: tsyata: kavà chuy lôgmut parà mas,
kavà gôy apàzis pazyuk bront     |
dàSi-bôz vaS kôrnakh par-darmas,
yinà-gatshanà zyanà-marànas kront     ||

O Mind, why have you gotten drunk
on foreign wine?
Why have you put the unreal
before the real?
Lack of wisdom has put you
on an alien path,
and the ordeal of
coming and going,
birth and death.

Note: This poem contains tricky symbolism and double meanings. The wordplay is extremely clever, and makes the translator's job harder. I've tried to translate on the level that makes for the best poetry. What Lalla is suggesting here is that she was, for a time, seduced by alien (probably theistic/dualistic) doctrine. There is other evidence that this may have been the case, because in another poem she says that she has read (and is still reading) the Bhagwad Gita. Lalla's work (which has been claimed by Hindus, Sufis, and Buddhists) goes beyond the sectarianisms of her day, but I think it is closest to Kashmiri Shaivism. That she intended it to be universal is indicated by the words, in another poem:

     "mo za:n hyond tà musalma:n," Forget about "Hindu" and "Muslim,"

because "Shiva lives everywhere" and "the sun shines on all alike." Too bad this tolerant attitude is not coming into play today.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 2

JK/NKK 2
lalith lalith vaday bà va:y,
tsyata: muhàc pyayiy ma:y     |
roziy nà patà loh-langaràc tsha:y,
niza svaru:p kya: môThuy ha:y     ||

Lalit, Lalit, I will weep for you.
O Mind, you have fallen under the spell
of maya.
Even the shadow of worldly possessions
will desert you.
You have forgotten
your own nature.
Why this foolishness?

Note: "lalith" is a double meaning, and can also be translated as "slowly" or "gently." But these meanings can only be considered to be secondary; the first meaning is her own name, by which she addresses herself. (Of all the other authors who have written on Lalla's poems, only Shambhu Nath Bhatt and Janki Nath Bhan, authors of the 1971 Köshur Sama:cha:r collection, have gotten this right.) In her poems, Lalla generally calls herself "Lali," which is a short form of "Lalita," a name of Parvati, consort of Shiva. Here she uses a slightly fuller form of that name. Other theories, such as that "lal" referred to a big belly that hung over her pudenda, thus protecting her modesty, are imaginative and creative, but lack any evidence in her poems or elsewhere.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 23

JK/NKK 23
na:bàdy bö:ras aTàganD Dyôl gom,
diha-ka:n hôl gom hyakà kàhyo     |
gvarà sund vatsun ra:van-tyôl pyom,
pahali-rôs khyôl gom hyakà kahyo     ||

The knot of my candy load (of worldly pleasures) has come loose,
my backbone is bent, how will I manage?
The guru's word has been a painful loss,
I am a shepherdless flock, how will I go on?

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 1

JK/NKK 1

a:mi panà södàras na:vi chès lama:n,
kati bozi day myon myati diyi ta:r     |
a:myan Ta:kyan pony zan Sama:n,
zuv chum brama:n garà gatshàha:     ||

I am towing my boat on the ocean (of embodied eistence)
with a rope of untwisted yarn.
May God hear my prayer and
carry me across safely.
Like water in unbaked clay,
my efforts are all for naught.
How I wish I would arrive home!

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

WORKING WITH DAD

Mentally, Dad was vanishing fast. Incipient Alzheimer's. Sandy and I were there on a visit. I think he still knew us, but you couldn't be sure. After breakfast, he wanted to cut back some tree branches from the eaves. He showed me where the long-handled pruner was. At the side of the house, I did the cutting and he did the directing.

Working from the ground, trimming the branches back was hard and uncomfortable. I knew I could do it better from the roof. So I got the ladder and climbed up. From there, I made rapid progress. "You should come down," he said. "Why?" I asked. "Because it's dangerous."

Back on the ground, I helped him to cut the branches into small pieces, filling a 32-gallon trash can. As we neared the end of the job, I remarked that it was almost done. "All good things come to an end," he said.

21 December 2016

Some of my readers have mentioned that there does not seem to be any way provided to follow my poetry blog. So far as I can see, the only way Google has given us is to follow me (Don Traxler) on Google Plus. That will work, as long as I share every new entry on Google+, and I will try to do this, as appropriate. So, add me to your G+ circles. It won't notify you of every post, but you will get 90% of them. Other social media will also work, and some, such as Twitter, will work even better.

RED WING

1959, sold some "ham" gear to buy them. Red Wing boots, tan, split leather, size 10. I was 17, feet still growing. Needed them for long hikes in Hollenbeck Canyon with Dave and Mike, encounters with rattlesnakes, .22 rifles, male bonding.

That was then, and this is now. Brought another pair with me from the US. Black, leather not split, couple sizes bigger. Six thousand miles and more than half a century away, when I slip my feet into them, I'm back in Hollenbeck Canyon. Funny how things go in circles. No rifle, more likely a dog leash in my hand. But when the hot, December sun bakes the eucalyptus leaves and the pine needles are fragrant, I'm there.

The tag inside says "Made in USA Red Wing Shoes since 1905." They still have the original, overbuilt heels and soles, too. Quality that's a thing of the past. But then, I'm a thing of the past. Don't reckon I'll be needing another pair, but I can wear these boots when I can't wear anything else. Ha! There's an image for you!

20 December 2016

TESTAMENTOS DO INFERNO

II.
O portón se abrirá pa dentro
y se feshará pa fora.
O país "do meio" otrora
É agora mui longe do centro.

The Gate will open toward the inside
and will be closed without.
The country that was once "of the middle"
is now very far out.

19 dezembro 2016

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

JK/NKK 119
Who sleeps, and who is awake?
The water seeps from what lake?
What should be offered to Shiva in worship?
What supreme state may we reach?

JK/NKK 120
The mind sleeps and the higher Self is awake.
Water always seeps from Five Senses Lake.
We offer the water of Self-meditation.

Shiva-consciousness is the state to be reached.

I had already included these two vakhs in blog entries of 6 October 2016. Unfortunately, they were in separate entries, and in reverse order.

Lalla is here teaching us by asking riddles and then giving us the answers. My translations are quite accurate, so I'll let Lalla's words speak for themselves, even in translation. It is Lalla who is the teacher, not me.

A few words of explanation about this project are in order. First of all, the JK/NKK numbers refer to the numbering of Jayalal Kaul, who applied an interesting set of criteria to several hundred supposed "lalvakhs," in an effort to determine which were likely to have actually been written by her. In this way, he came up with a collection of 138 vakhs that he thought were probably genuine.

Jayalal Kaul's collection, with its numbering, was in turn adopted by Nil Kanth Kotru, in his 1989 book LAL DED, Her Life and Sayings. It was this book that convinced me that the current project was actually feasible. One of Kotru's innovations was to present Lalla's original texts in a modified system of Devanagari, which allowed him to represent all of Kashmiri's many vowels. Neither standard Devanagari nor the standard Perso-Arabic script can do this (nor can the Sharada script, in spite of some claims).

At any rate, I transliterated NKK's modified Devanagari (in which the diacritical marks were written in by hand) into a special romanization, which also represented all the vowels, but could be typed on a computer keyboard. When I publish my complete collection of translations of Lalla's vakhs, that romanized text will be included with each poem. The collection that I publish will likely include about 150 vakhs, since there are some from other sources that I accept as genuine. Typographical errors in NKK's Kashmiri text will also be corrected, so far as I am able to do that.

Lalla wrote in an old form of Kashmiri, which for speakers of modern English would be analogous to Chaucer's Middle English. She included a lot of Sanskrit words, which actually helps. Lalla's poems are the oldest surviving Kashmiri literature. So far as I know, there are no books to teach one how to understand Lalla's old form of Kashmiri. Lalla herself has been my teacher, through her poems. I always work from a Kashmiri text, also consulting other translators whose translations I have found to be literal enough to be of use. My finished translation is thus a kind of consensus as to the meaning of Lalla's Kashmiri, expressed in suitable English by a native speaker.

While I owe huge debts of gratitude to many people in the Kashmiri Pundit community, my most important help and teacher has been Lalla herself, and it is she that now drives the work forward.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

LALLA

It was your nudity
that first caused me
to notice you.
Now I see you
clothed, but your
soul cannot
be hidden.

We are children of
the same Father
and Mother,
speaking different
languages, yet
sister and brother.

We meet in dream
and we meet in mantra,
we meet in OM,
and in "namah Shivaya."

14 December 2016
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

MEDITATION ON 11

MEDITATION ON 11

In what do I take refuge,
with so much doubt?
How can you say to me.
"bird, hill"
without explaining?
Am I to fly like a bird
to the mountain,
or fly like a mountain bird?
Or fly to my own hill?

When the foundations
have been thrown over,
what can the just do?

For the foundations
are destroyed--
what has the Righteous
One done?

If the foundations are destroyed
what has the righteous man accomplished?

quoniam quae perfecisti, destruxerunt

Because what you fashioned,
they destroyed,
but what did the righteous do?

If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?

Quando fundamenta evertuntur,
justus quid facere valet?

For the laws are dissipated,
what has the just man done?

leges dissipatae sunt

There is so much doubt--
how is it to be
dissipated,
overturned,
destroyed?

The foundations
are a monument
to uncertainty.

December 12 2015, revised December 12 2016

OS TESTAMENTOS DO INFERNO

I.
Por qué te preocupas con el fin
si non comprendes o comesso.
A verdad é que el fin
y o principio son lo stesso.

Why do you concern yourself with the end
if you do not understand the beginning?
The truth is that the end
and the beginning are the same.

10 dizembro 2016

DEFENSIVE MANEUVER

I keep an agéd finger
on the young pulse
of my old country.
The symptoms are:
a turning-inward
that is "away from"
and not "toward,"
a disconnecting from
the outside world.
Likes and dislikes,
determined by long
habit, may no longer
fit.
There is confusion
and there is fear--
will isolation protect?
While other parts of
the world are
waking up,
my countrymen
have no more
attention to give.

O you, who call
yourself "America,"
are you sleeping,
or are you dying?

9 December 2016.

MACHINES

To work with computers,
one has to think like a computer,
to think like a machine.
It makes for a colder,
more lifeless world,
a world run
by machines.

We are programming
the defenses of dictators,
the logistics of fascists,
and the humor of maniacs.
We are designing the systems
of our surveillance,
and building the platforms
for our own hanging.

Thirty-five years ago
I laughed at a neo-Luddite.
Now I wonder
if it's too late.

8 Dec. 2016

BODY SHAME

It's a different kind
of body shame:
not body-type
(though that came
later), but just
HAVING a body.

Oh yes, we've laughed
about it, my sister
and I: "Traxlers don't
have bodies," we
often say. But where
did it start, and
how? Why, at the
age of ten, did the
very word,
"body,"
make me blush?

What was the shame
in having a body?
Why the secrecy
about certain parts
which must,
at all costs,
be kept hidden?
Why the blushing?

It will not happen
again. Perhaps
my naturism
has gone too
far. But,
you see,
it took me
many years to
get a body,
and now that
I have one,
I won't easily
give it up.

6 Dec. 2016

STANDING ROCK

Is it possible that the world
is changing for the better?
Can unity and solidarity
be hallmarks of the future?
Is it possible that love
really does
conquer all?
Let us live
in this crazy
hope.
Let us become
what we desire.

5 December 2016

I would like to thank everyone for showing support for my poetry. Some say that no one reads poetry anymore, but evidently that is not the case. In the two months since I started my poetry blog, it has had more than three thousand visits. The top ten countries from which the visits have come are the US, Uruguay, Germany, UK, Chile, Spain, Ireland, Argentina, Canada, and India. The blog has also had visits from Poland, Italy, Venezuela, Guatemala, Turkey, Colombia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Sweden, Norway, the Ukraine, Bulgaria, Belarus, Mexico, and other countries. Thanks again, and I hope you will continue to enjoy my poetry blog.

QUATRAINS DE NOSSA SENHORA XCVIII - C

CXVIII.
Quando dominan os últimos,
faltarán os primeros,
poder de espiritistas,
bailadores, y ganaderos.

When the last dominate,
the first will fail.
power of spiritualists,
dancers, and ranchers.

XCIX.
A estos se agreguen
pescadores y putas,
quando serán os poetas
os más astutos.

To these may be added
fishers and whores,
when poets will be
the most astute.

C.
O principio va ser
igual que su fin,
nada que perder
y escasso el win.

The beginning will be
the same as its end,
nothing to lose,
and little to win.

4 de dezembro 2016

I AM HERE - II

As a young, idealistic man
I taught an undocumented
dock-worker to read his
own language, and a Venezuelan
family to speak English.
I shared my language with
wonderful Catalán teenagers.

But I am not here
to teach, though it may happen,
but rather to learn,
to absorb this culture,
keeping the good and
rejecting the harmful,
as I did in the "old
country." I am here
to live, to share,
and to flourish.

29 Nov. 2016

I AM HERE

I am here, and I don't think
of being anywhere else.
I've long forgotten the feel of foreign
coins, and customs that were always
foreign to me are more so now.

When I walk my dog in the
fresh evening air, I know
the sights and smells as she
does, though not as intensely,
and the trees and dogs greet us both.

If you ask shall I stay or go,
I'll reply as did Georgia O.*,
with peace in her eyes and on her face:
"Is there another place?"

27 Nov. 2016

* The US artist Georgia O'Keefe, when asked
in the desert of New Mexico whether she
ever thought of living somewhere else,
famously replied with the words of the last
line of the poem.

QUATRAINS DE NOSSA SENHORA

XCVII.
Quando el hemisferio norte
se transforma en ataúd,
entón evita-se la morte
shendo pra o sud.

When the Northern Hemisphere
becomes a coffin,
then death is avoided
by going to the south.

26 de novembro 2016

The Iceplant

Two years old.
As I stared,
fascinated, at
the iceplant flowers,
Mom pulled on
the leash of
the harness I wore.
She didn't want
me to be stung by
the bees, who were
also fascinated.

Five years old.
As I played
with iceplant leaves,
crushing them to
extract the juice,
I saw in my mind
the image of an old
man in a skullcap,
strangely dressed,
working with
plant parts.

The iceplant, like
the lantana and
the star pine,
followed me
six thousand miles.
I have some very
old friends here.

11 Nov. 2016

Standing on the dock,
I catch a bow-line
and fasten it
securely.
The ship's an unlikely
one, broad and
high and short.
But I, at least,
have helped
to bring it
into port.

23 November 2016

MISSA PRO NOBIS - IV

Hoc est enim corpus meum,
vehiculum animae meae,
et templum Spiritus Sancti,
quod pro nobis
et pro tota
humanitate
in amore
offertur.

For this is my body,
the vehicle of my soul
and a temple of the
Holy Spirit,
which is offered
in love
for us
and for all
humankind.

Porque éste es mi cuerpo,
el vehículo de mi alma
y un templo del
Espíritu Santo,
que se ofrece
en amor
para nosotras y nosotros
y para toda
la humanidad.

22 Nov. 2016

QUATRAINS DE NOSSA SENHORA

XCVI
Excavá las camadas da pessoa
non é cosa pra todos.
É muito más fácil deishá
que se vea nu en corpo.

Excavating the layers
of the person is not for everyone.
To be seen physically naked
is far easier.

21 novembro 2016

MISSA PRO NOBIS - III

Sancta, Sanctus
Domina et Dominus,
Dea et Deus.
Pleni sunt
caeli et terra
glória vestra.
Hosánna
in excelsis.
Benedictae et
Benedicti
qui veniunt
in nomine
Dominae et
Domini.
Hosánna
in excelsis.

Holy, Holy,
Lady and Lord,
Goddess and God.
Filled are the
heavens and
the earth
with your glory.
Hosanna in
the high places.
Blessed are those
who come
in the name of
the Lady and Lord.
Hosanna in
the high places.

Santa, Santo
la Señora
y el Señor,

Diosa y Dios.
Llenos están
los cielos y
la tierra
de vuestra gloria.
Hosanna en
las alturas.
Benditas,
Benditos
las y los que vienen
en el nombre
de la Señora y
el Señor.
Hosanna en
las alturas.

MISSA PRO NOBIS - II

Oráte sorores et fratres
ut meum ac vestrum
sacrificium
acceptabile fiat
apud Deam
et Deum.

Per omnia saecula
saeculorum.

Amén.

Domina et Dominus
vobíscum.

Et cum spiritu tuo.

Sursum corda.

Habemus ad Dominam
et Dominum.

Gratias agámus.

Dignum et justum est.

Vere dignum et
justum est,
aequum et salutáre
semper et ubique
gratias ágere.

Pray, sisters and brothers,
that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable
in the sight of Goddess
and God.

For all the centuries
of centuries.

Amen.

May the Lady and Lord
be with you.

And with your spirit.

Lift up your hearts.

We have, to the Lady
and Lord.

Let us give thanks.

It is right and just.

It is truly right and just,
always and everywhere,
to give thanks.

Orad, hermanas y hermanos,
a fin de que mi sacrificio
y el vuestro
sea aceptable en
el acatamiento de Diosa
y Dios.

Por todos los siglos
de los siglos.

Así sea.

La Señora y el Señor
sean con vosotros.

Y con tu espíritu.

¡Arriba los corazones!

Ya los tenemos unidos
a la Señora y al Señor.

Demos gracias.

Digno y justo es.

Verdaderamente es digno
y justo, equitativo y
saludable, que demos
gracias en todo tiempo
y lugar.

El océano lava
mi mente
con el fuerte jabón
del presente.

The ocean washes
my mind
with the strong soap
of the present.

MIS VERSOS

Mis versos son frágiles
conchas marinas,
hablando de antigua
y contínua
vida.

SHELLS

My verses are fragile shells,
speaking of ancient
and continuing
life.

MISSA PRO NOBIS - I

Introibo ad altare Deae,
introibo ad altare Dei,
ad Deam qui laetificat,
ad Deum quae laetificat
juventutem meam
et potestatem meam,
Dea Deusque in
nobis omnibus.

I will go in to the altar of the Goddess,
I will go in to the altar of the God,
to the Goddess who gives joy,
to the God who gives joy
to my youth
and to my power,
the Goddess and the God
in all of us.

Entraré al altar de la Diosa,
al altar del Dios,
hasta la Diosa,
hasta el Dios,
que alegra mi juventud
y mi poder,
la Diosa y el Dios
en todas y todos.

13 Nov. 2016

Como el liso toscano de Dante,
este portunhol é una lingua
apta para la poesía.

Like Dante's smooth Tuscan,
this Portunhol is a language
suitable for poetry.

7 de novembro 2016

QUATRAINS DE NOSSA SENHORA

XCV.
El océano é l'orígen
da vida na terra.
É generoso,
y lo estamo matando.

The ocean is the source
of life on Earth.
It is bountiful,
and we are killing it.

7 de novembro 2016

FIGHTING BACK

This is something new,
they tell me, it was not
this way before. Now
the weather is
more aggressive,
and more violent.
Our calm climate
is gone.

Nature
is fighting
back.

***

Esto es algo nuevo,
me dicen, no era
así antes.Ahora
el tiempo es
más agresivo,
y más violento.
nuestro clima apacible
ya se fué.

La naturaleza
contraataca.

November 6 2016

Life is a strong wine
to take so tall a glass
where many would live
in little sips.

30 October 2016

BESCHWÖRUNG

I conjure you,
monster of our own creation,
by the sacred elements
of earth, air, fire, water,
and spirit,
in the presence of the guardians
of the four directions,
to desist from your evil
acts and allow us
once again to be free
and fully human,
that we and our Mother,
the Earth, may again
thrive.
As I will,
so may it be.
As we will,
so will it be.

Blessings and strength
to my sisters and brothers
in all lands.
Our weapon is love,
and in it we are
invincible.

QUATRAINS DE NOSSA SENHORA

XCIV.
Somo prisioneros
y non avrá resgate.
Por las barras da prisón
nos dan shocolate.

We are prisoners
and there will be no ransom.
Through the prison bars
they give us chocolate.

28/10/2016

In the stormy month of October

when we thought southern winter was over,

the wind screamed "No way!"

and promised to stay

'til hell freezes over.

10/27/16

I held my breath

until I could no longer

hold it,

and when at last

I breathed out,

there was an

explosion

of poetry.

23 Oct. 2016

Tiny sea creatures
write messages in the sand
that no one can read.

23/10/2016

QUATRAINS DE NOSSA SENHORA

XCIII.
O pronóstico de tempo é disponível
mas ninguno lo pode ler.
O idioma é audível
mas non se pode entender.

The weather report is available
but no one can read it.
The language is audible
but cannot be understood.

22/10/2016

QUATRAINS DE NOSSA SENHORA

XCII.

O príncipe adiciona

decorazones a su ropa

mentre que su país

non funciona.

The prince adds

decorations to his clothes

while his country

does not function.

21/10/2016

#poesia #portunhol #4linhas #4lineas #4lines

QUATRAINS DE NOSSA SENHORA

XCI.
Avaritia, avaritia quae
societatem nostram destruit,
hostis principalis est,
sicut semper fuit.

Greed, greed that
destroys our society,
is the main enemy,
as it has always been.

19/10/2016

QUATRAINS DE NOSSA SENHORA

XC.
Una palavra
de vida anterior
dizer debo:
sicut sol, evolutus collucebo.

18/10/2016

QUATRAINS DE NOSSA SENHORA

LXXXIX.
O mundo está invertido,
por los pies estamo suspendido
entre lo malo y lo temido,
sen tené lo prometido.

The world is upside-down,
we are suspended by our feet
between the bad and the feared,
not having what was promised.

17 de otubro 2016

STONE TOOLS

Stone tools, shaped by
human hands,
centuries ago
at least.
I find them
on the beach,
or in mossy
streambeds,
unrecognized by others.

They are mostly
for cutting or
scraping, for
cleaning hunted
game or fish.

The one thing
they all have
in common
is a comfortable
shape, carefully worked
to fit the hand.

The shells beside them
in the sand
are older life
by millions of years,
but do not bespeak
the hopes,
the labor,
the loves,
and the tears.

16 October 2016

THE SAND DOLLAR

What is the kiss of the sand dollar,
what its thought?
What is its bliss,
what has it wrought?

10/15/2016

PHOEBE, THE OCEAN, AND HAPPINESS

We've been here at the beach house for four days, and until today we hadn't turned on the sound system--the beach and the ocean had given us all the entertainment we needed. Today it's raining, and we wanted to hear some music. I asked Sandy to pick, and she chose The Best of Phoebe Snow--a cd we hadn't heard in years, though it was very beloved of both of us in the '70s. Poor Phoebe left us years ago, but she left behind so much delicate beauty, not to mention a humorous swagger that can only charm. Looking out at the ocean, I think it strange and unforeseeable that Sandy and I would be sitting here in a beach house in Uruguay, one of our two homes here, listening to Phoebe and looking out at our front yard, which is the ocean. Strange, not to be predicted, but wonderful. May you all be as fortunate. <3