This Body / Ce corps

This body has a history.
Born of skinny parents,
it was too slight for war.
Now, at three-quarters
of a century,
it is probably
at its best.
May the soul,
for which it is the vehicle,
be able to say
the same
before it rests.

Ce corps a une histoire.
Né de parents maigres,
c'était trop léger pour la guerre.
Maintenant, aux trois quarts
d'un siècle,
c'est probablement
à son meilleur.
Que l'âme,
pour laquelle c'est le véhicule,
soit capable de dire
le même
avant qu'il ne repose.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.

He Has Seen

He has seen
the forests of the night,
Alexandria at its height,
civilized savages,
the Black Plague's ravages,
the rebirth of science and art,
and how it falls apart.

He has seen
people bought and sold,
massacres for gold,
and victims untold;
gods and goddesses alike,
a naked woman on a bike.

He has known
the joy of love,
the power of a kiss,
but in all of history's range,
never a time more strange
than this,

than this.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.

My Body Is a Channel of Communication / Mon corps est un canal de communication / ᎠᏆ ᎠᏰᎸ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎤᎶᎯᏍᏗ ᏗᏛᎪᏔᏅ ᎥᎿᎢमेरा शरीर संचार का एक चैनल है। /

My body is a channel of communication.
I listen, day and night.

Mon corps est un canal de communication.
J'écoute, jour et nuit.

मेरा शरीर संचार का एक चैनल है।
मैं सुनता हूं, दिन और रात।

ᎠᏆ ᎠᏰᎸ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎤᎶᎯᏍᏗ ᏗᏛᎪᏔᏅ ᎥᎿᎢ.
ᎠᏯ ᎭᏛᏓᏍᏓᏎ, ᎢᎦ ᎠᎴ ᏒᏃᏱ.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.