White-bearded Gentleman

I am a white-bearded gentleman,
with a raging beast inside.
No one can know this passion,
no one can turn this tide.
No one can slow my reckless speed,
no one can shame me.
Those who would try, take heed,
for only love can tame me.
Agents of control and greed,
you'll never, ever name me.
Life can paint my picture,
but only love can frame me,
only love inflame me..

Nano, Parts I - IV

Nano, Part I

In a yellow house on Main Street,
in Whitegate, County Cork,
Nano helps her mother
to fill the shop window
with apple pies and turnovers
and cherry cobblers.
She grew up without her father,
so when it comes to men,
she has little to compare to,
and her thoughts
are her own.
As she makes pastries
and waits on customers,
Nano composes poems.

Nano, Part II

Nano attended a convent school,
where she learned to speak French
and play the piano.
Now, as she works,
Nano writes wistful and
reflective poems,
full of love of
nature, and love of
Ireland.
Still, she does not marry,
and when it comes to men,
her thoughts are her own.

Courtesy of Patricia Traxler

Nano, Part III

Her mother has now left
for America,
with a brother who is
ill and dying.
The shop sold,
Nano stays with her
married sister.
In that larger house,
in another Cork town,
she occasionally bakes
a pie, a turnover,
or a cobbler.
Still she does not marry,
and when it comes to men,
her thoughts are her own.

Nano, Part IV

In Guileen, Nano walks
by the water's edge,
where the tender will take her
to the ship.
She falls to talking with
a young man of her age.
With a gust of wind,
her picture hat takes wing.
He climbs over the low seawall
and retrieves it for her.
Somehow, while they talk
and while they walk
the paths of the cliff,
the afternoon passes.
He asks for her address,
and she gives it,
but she is leaving
for America
in the morning.

Gymniad LIV - The Range of Light (with translations)

The range of light
is like the range of words,
and form
is always form.
There is nothing to say
about a naked person,
and their naturalness
asserts itself,
leaving the clothed
to envy their comfort,
and their freedom.

Be the one envied,
if you can.

[portunhol surenho]

A gama de luz
é como a gama de palavras,
y forma
é sempre forma.
Non hay nada a dizer
sobre uma pessoa nua,
y sua naturalidade
impone-se,
deishando o vestido
invejá su conforto,
y a sua liberdade.

Seja invejável,
se voce pode.


[español]

El rango de luz
es como el rango de palabras,
y forma
es siempre forma.
No hay nada que decir
sobre una persona desnuda,
y su naturalidad
se impone,
dejando a los vestidos
envidiar su comodidad,
y su libertad.

Sé el envidiado,
si puedes.

In the first half of 2016, I wrote a poem in fourteen parts, called Nano. Because it represented a lot of typing, I skipped it when I started this blog. I have been asked to include it, though, and this is as good a time as any, since the Gymniad series is essentially finished.

Nano is about my grandmother's experiences when she came to the US from Ireland in 1911. An earlier version, in prose, was called Nano in the Wild West, which describes well what it is about.
The poem series is dedicated to my cousin Nano Murphy, of Midleton, East Cork, Ireland. She is the namesake of the original Nano, my grandmother, Nora "Nano" Dunne Hanes, of Whitegate, Cork.

Gymniad LIII - We Are So Very Lucky (with translations)

Sitting naked at the dining room table,
my body is caressed by a soft breeze
from outside.
The front door has blown wide open--
I could be seen,
but it doesn't matter.
We have put ourselves
out to pasture
in a place where people
have their own lives,
and you can have yours.

[portunhol surenho]

Sentado nu a la mesa da sala de jantá,
meu corpo se acaricia por uma brisa suave
de fora.
A porta da frente se abreu bem por o vento--
eu poderia ser visto,
mas non importa.
Nos colocamos
para o pasto
num lugar onde as pessoas
tem suas proprias vidas,
y voce pode ter a sua.


[español]

Sentado desnudo a la mesa del comedor,
mi cuerpo se acaricia por una suave brisa
desde afuera.
La puerta de entrada se ha abierto de par en par--
podría ser visto,
pero no importa.
Nos hemos puesto
a pastar
en un lugar donde la gente
tiene sus propias vidas,
y puedes tener la tuya.

The End of the Gymniad Series?

Is Gymniad LII the last poem in the Gymniad series? Perhaps. My only model is a rather tired 75-year-old man, I'm running out of poses, and I think I've said most of what I wanted to say on the subject of natural nudity. I think it's an important subject, so I may revisit it in some form in the future. It has been a very successful series, but I think it may be time to move on.

I offer two photographs for your consideration, both taken while on a trip to Ireland in June of 2016. The first, fully clothed, was taken on a bench behind a house that was once owned by members of my grandmother's family.

It is, as you might expect, a picture that has great meaning for me.


The second, nude, was taken on the same trip, in the bathroom of a hotel room just a few feet away.

The second photograph is also very meaningful to me, and as a matter of fact it inspired the first poem I wrote on the subject of nudity.

Both pictures have deep meaning for me. The point, though, is that there are many things to write about besides nudity, I intend to write about as many of them as I can.

Gymniad LII - There Is Nothing to Say (with translations)

There is nothing to say
about a naked human being.
We are without attributes
until judgments are made.

There is nothing to say
about body-acceptance
and tolerance of diversity.
until they are not present.

There is nothing to say
about joy in nature,
until it is lacking.

There is nothing to say
about comfort and efficiency
until you don't have them.

There is nothing to say
about respect,
until there is none.

The same is true
of freedom.

[portunhol surenho]

Non hay nada a dizer
sobre um ser humano nu.
Estamo sem atributos
até que os julgamentos sesham feitos.

Non hay nada a dizer
sobre a aceptasón do corpo
y tolerancia a la diversidade.
até que elas non estesham presentes.

Non hay nada a dizer
sobre alegria na natureza,
até que estesha faltando.

Non hay nada a dizer
sobre conforto y eficiencia
até que voce non os tenha.

Non hay nada a dizer
sobre o respeito
até que non hasha nenhum.

O mesmo é verdade
da liberdade.


[español]

No hay nada que decir
sobre un ser humano desnudo.
Estamos sin atributos
hasta que se hagan juicios

No hay nada que decir
sobre la aceptación del cuerpo
y tolerancia de la diversidad.
hasta que no estén presentes.

No hay nada que decir
sobre la alegría en la naturaleza,
hasta que falta.

No hay nada que decir
sobre la comodidad y la eficiencia
hasta que no las tengas.

No hay nada que decir
sobre el respeto,
hasta que no haya ninguno.

Lo mismo es verdad
de la libertad.


[Hindi]

कहने के लिये कुछ नहीं है
एक नग्न इंसान के बारे में
हम विशेषताओं के बिना हैं
जब तक निर्णय किए जाते हैं

कहने के लिये कुछ नहीं है
शरीर-स्वीकृति के बारे में
और विविधता की सहिष्णुता
जब तक वे मौजूद नहीं हैं

कहने के लिये कुछ नहीं है
प्रकृति में खुशी के बारे में,
जब तक यह कमी नहीं है

कहने के लिये कुछ नहीं है
आराम और दक्षता के बारे में
जब तक आप उन्हें नहीं है

कहने के लिये कुछ नहीं है
सम्मान के बारे में,
जब तक कोई भी नहीं है

यही सच है
स्वतंत्रता की।