In trying to restart my project of a new translation of the Psalms, I have found myself struggling with cultural norms of three thousand years ago. If you want to know exactly what I mean, look at my translation of Psalm 137, which I published in this blog on 10 December 2018. I left the last verse untranslated, in Latin, because it expressed a cruelty (to children) that I could not abide. It turns out that I am not tough enough for the Middle East of 900 BCE. Even in the context of war, such unfathomable cruelty offends me.
I am a seventy-nine-year-old poet who is also a naturist and a feminist. I happen to be able to translate some ancient languages that most people can't, because my education prepared me for a world that no longer exists. As a naturist, body-shame offends me. As a feminist, the subjugation of women offends me. As one who believes in mercy and truth, senseless cruelty offends me.
It has taken me seventy-nine years to become who I am, and I am still trying to live accordingly. I'll not give that up easily. It seems to me that we cannot enshrine and perpetuate the mistakes of the past, if we are to walk peacefully and joyfully into the future.
Text and image Copyright © 2021 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
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