Gymniad XXVII - In This World (with translations)

In this world
we have to fight
for what is natural.
We have to defend
all that is
conspired against,
and protect what otherwise
would be lost.

Prominent among these things
is our freedom.

[portunhol surenho]

Neste mundo
tenemos que lutar
para o que é natural.
Tenemos que defender
tudo isso contra que
se conspira,
y protegé o que de outra forma
ficaria perdido.

Proeminente entre essas coisas
é a nossa liberdade.


[español]

En este mundo
tenemos que luchar
para lo que es natural.
Tenemos que defender
todo contra que
se conspira,
y proteger lo que de otra manera
estaría perdido.

Destacado entre estas cosas
es nuestra libertad.

Gymniad XXVI - I am relaxed

I am relaxed
and at ease,
even in the
summer heat.
My body,
which has had
its share
of sun today,
now gets
its share
of air.

I can't help thinking
that I am very lucky.

Gymniad XXV - Idealist (with translations)

Idealist, you say,
fighting with windmills
in my old age.
And yet,
I'm searching
for a better way,
and trying
to live it.

[portunhol surenho]

Idealista, diz você,
lutando com moinhos de vento
na minha veshez.
E ainda,
estou buscando
uma maneira meshor,
y tratando
de viver la.


[español]

Idealista, dices,
luchando con molinos de viento
en mi vejez.
Y todavía,
estoy buscando
una manera mejor,
e intentando
vivirla.


[Hindi]

आदर्शवादी, आप कहते हैं,
पवनचक्की के साथ लड़ाई
मेरी बुढ़ापे में
और फिर भी,
मुझे तलाश है
एक बेहतर तरीका के लिए,
और कोशिश कर रहा
इसे जीने के लिए

Gymniad XXIV - Nature Cannot Be (with translations)

Nature cannot be
repressed or suppressed,
and we
will have to be
free.

[portunhol surenho]

A natureza non pode ser
reprimida ou suprimida
y nós
tendremo que ser
livres.


[español]

La naturaleza no puede ser
reprimido o suprimido,
y nosotros
tendremos que ser
libres.


[Hindi]
प्रकृति नहीं हो सकती
दमित या दबा हुआ,
और हम
होना ही होगा
मुक्त।

Tools

When I was six,
they gave me a
Gilbert "Big Boy"
tool set.
It was clear to me
that they wanted me
to learn to use
the tools.
I did, and the learning
went on.
My father told me
all about saws
(Henry Disston was the "best"),
and even showed me how
you could make music
with a good one.
My father made music
with a ball-peen hammer,
and fed and clothed
us all-
As time went on,
he gave me a few tools
that he didn't need.
There was a wooden-handled
screwdriver that he had
ground too sharp
(I still have it, and use it
to spread glue on guitar bodies).
there were squares,
a machinist's guage,
a micrometer--
and some things that
you could only use
on a farm.
"Never sell your tools,"
my father said.
True to his word,
his children had to
sell his.

I've had these tools
for decades,
and they are like friends.
There is the claw hammer,
now worn out,
that I put a new
maple handle on
in 1987.
There are stories
connected with most
of them,
and on dark nights
we trade memories
around the workbench.

My father gave me things,
sometimes useless,
just to be giving me things,
and lots of good advice.
"Don't file brass,"
he said,
"it will dull your file."
I remembered everything
he told me.

"Never sell your tools,"
he said,
and he should know.
I tried not to,
but I finally had to let
the hog-ringers
go.

Gymniad XXIII - I Do My Best (+ptl, es, fr)

I do my best to function
in the heat of Southern January,
no more dressed than
the Charrúas*
would have been.
But I spend much
of my day
in front of a device
that they could not
have imagined.

I find their handmade
tools on the beach,
but they are gone,
their language unknown.
Perhaps they survived,
naked or warmed by furs,
in some alternate
universe,
more kind
to nature.

*Indigenous people of Uruguay.

[portunhol surenho]

Eu fazo o meu meshor para funcioná
no calor de janeiro no sul,
non mais vestido do que
os charruas *
teriam sido.
Mas eu gasto muito
do meu dia
na frente de um dispositivo
que eles non podiam
haver imaginado.

Eu encontro seus artesanais
ferramentas na praia,
mas eles se foram,
sua língua desconhecida.
Talvez eles tenham sobrevivido
nu ou aquecido por peles,
em algum suplente
universo,
mais amável
para a natureza.


[español]

Hago mi mejor esfuerzo para funcionar
en el calor de enero en el sur,
no más vestido que
los Charrúas *
habrían sido.
Pero gasto mucho
de mi día
frente a un dispositivo
que no podrían
haber imaginado.

Encuentro sus herramientas
hechas a mano en la playa,
pero se han ido,
su lenguaje desconocido.
Quizás sobrevivieron,
desnudos o abrigados por pieles,
en algún universo
alternativo,
mas amable
para con la naturaleza.


[français]

Je fais de mon mieux pour fonctionner
dans la chaleur de janvier au sud,
pas plus habillé que
les Charrúas *
auraient été.
Mais je dépense beaucoup
de ma journée
devant un appareil
qu'ils ne pourraient pas
avoir imaginé.

Je trouve leurs outils
faits à la main
sur la plage,
mais ils sont partis,
leur langue est inconnue.
Peut-être qu'ils ont survécu,
nu ou réchauffé par des fourrures,
dans un univers alternatif,
plus gentil
à la nature.

Please note that many of the poems in the blog are not in their final form when first published. Some (such as Gymniad XXII, for example) have been revised several times since their first appearance in the blog.