Gymnós II - Most people See (+ptl, es, fr)

Most people see
what they want to see.
But we who live
without pretense
can see
a little deeper.

[portunhol surenho]

A maioria das pessoas ve
o que eles querem ver.
Mas nós que vivemo
sem pretensón
podemo ver
um pouco mais profundo.


[español]

La mayoría de las personas ven
lo que quieren ver.
Pero nosotros que vivimos
sin pretensiones
podemos ver
un poco más profundo.


[français]

La plupart des gens voient
ce qu'ils veulent voir.
Mais nous qui vivons
sans prétention
pouvons voir
un peu plus profond.

Gymnós I - I Have No Apologies (+ptl, es, fr)

I have no apologies
to make for who I am.
Generations of tribal
people live in
my genes.
At the moment,
we are all
very, very angry.

[portunhol surenho]

Non tenho desculpas
fazer sobre quem eu sou.
Gerasones de pessoas
tribais vivem em
meus genes.
No momento,
somo todos
muito, muito bravos.


[español]

No tengo disculpas
hacer sobre quién soy.
Generaciones de gente tribal
viven en mis genes.
En el momento,
somos todos
muy, muy enojados.


[français]

Je n'ai pas d'excuses
faire pour qui je suis.
Des générations de gens de tribus
vivent dans mes gènes.
En ce moment,
nous sommes tous
très, très en colère.

New series: Gymnós. The word "gymnós" is Greek for "naked," or "nude." All illustrations in this series will contain nudity, and will therefore be NSFW. If you don't want to look at them, don't. Naturism/nudism is part of who I am, and part of my writing (but, obviously, not all of it). The poems will sometimes be presented at first without translations, but usually a few translations will be added later.

Thoughts on Changing Times

In 1963
I had a hole in the bottom of my shoe,
just like Adlai Stevenson.
Don't know if his was voluntary,
but mine was surely not.

Adlai and I
both lost a President.
He lived 'til '65,
but I am still alive.

I lived and worked, and paid the rent,
five decades softly came and went.

I have no hole in any shoe,
but lived to see a Russian coup.

I Am Standing Tall (+Udugi ꭴꮪꭹ)

I am standing tall
and standing naked
in the hall of
our liberation,
which is the hall
of the people,
the long house
of humanity.

In each other's presence
we can see to the end
of the four winds,
and day and night
become our servants,
and sun and moon
our familiar tools,
as we build
a new day.

[Udugi ꭴꮪꭹ]

aya gadoga inv-igati
ale gadoga uyelvha
galanvdv aquatseli
didayohisgv hawina,
gado-usdi gesvase galanvdv
vhnai yvwi,
ganvhida galitsode
yvwi-anehv.

edohvgi ogvsa hawina
itsula yeliquase agowadv ulisdv
nvgi unolehidi vhnai
ale iga ale svnoyi
didolagi aquatseli atsinatlaidi,
ale nvdadi
aquatseli adadolagidi gohusdi-gvtanidasdidi,
tsilvsdiquv itsula adanelv-anesgvdi
itsene igane.

ᎠᏯ ᎦᏙᎦ ᎢᏅ-ᎢᎦᏘ
ᎠᎴ ᎦᏙᎦ ᎤᏰᎸᎭ
ᎦᎳᏅᏛ ᎠᏆᏤᎵ
ᏗᏓᏲᎯᏍᎬ ᎭᏫᎾ,
ᎦᏙ-ᎤᏍᏗ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎦᎳᏅᏛ
ᎥᎿᎢ ᏴᏫ,
ᎦᏅᎯᏓ ᎦᎵᏦᏕ
ᏴᏫ-ᎠᏁᎲ.

ᎡᏙᎲᎩ ᎣᎬᏌ ᎭᏫᎾ
ᎢᏧᎳ ᏰᎵᏆᏎ ᎠᎪᏩᏛ ᎤᎵᏍᏛ
ᏅᎩ ᎤᏃᎴᎯᏗ ᎥᎿᎢ
ᎠᎴ ᎢᎦ ᎠᎴ ᏒᏃᏱ
ᏗᏙᎳᎩ ᎠᏆᏤᎵ ᎠᏥᎾᏝᎢᏗ,
ᎠᎴ ᏅᏓᏗ
ᎠᏆᏤᎵ ᎠᏓᏙᎳᎩᏗ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ-ᎬᏔᏂᏓᏍᏗᏗ,
ᏥᎸᏍᏗᏋ ᎢᏧᎳ ᎠᏓᏁᎸ-ᎠᏁᏍᎬᏗ
ᎢᏤᏁ ᎢᎦᏁ.

The Rememberers

Does it really exist?
A book thicker than
Webster's Third,
too heavy to handle,
with the names of
those who remember.

Those who remember
the mass murders,
rapes, assaults,
bombings, massacres,
frauds, thefts.
violations
of every human
right.

This book contains
more memories than
there are words
in the English
language. It is
a vocabulary of grief,
a dictionary of shame,
the self-inflicted
scars of our species.

This book will not
go away or lighten
its Sisyphean load
until we spew out
its contents
and stand up to
the murderers,
rapists, molesters,
warmongers,
whore mongers,
corrupt hacks,
mobsters,
dictators,
racists and
purveyors of hate,
and all committers
of atrocities.

This millstone will not
be removed from our necks
until we stand up.
Stand up.
Stand up!
STAND UP!
STAND UP NOW!

Alvorada XV - We Are Emerging (+ptl, es, fr, cat, it, eo)

We are emerging
from the shadows
of the past,
into the light
of a new present,
and a new future.
The casting off
of darkness
shall be the mark
of our success.

[portunhol surenho]

Estamo emergindo
das sombras
do passado,
na Luz
de um novo presente,
y um novo futuro.
O quitar
da escuridade
deve ser a marca
do nosso sucesso.


[español]

Estamos emergiendo
de las sombras
del pasado,
en la luz
de un nuevo presente,
y un nuevo futuro.
El quitar
de la oscuridad
será la marca
de nuestro éxito.


[français]

Nous émergons
de l'ombre
du passé,
dans la lumière
d'un nouvel moment,
et un nouvel avenir.
L'éloignement
de l'obscurité
doit être la marque
de notre succès.


[català]

Estem emergint
des de les ombres
del passat,
a la llum
d'un nou present,
i un futur nou.
L'allunyament
de la foscor
serà la marca
del nostre èxit.


[italiano]

Stiamo emergendo
dalle ombre
del passato,
nella luce
di una nuova attualità ,
e un nuovo futuro.
Il togliere
dell'oscurità
deve essere il marchio
del nostro successo.


[esperanto]

Ni emerĝas
el la ombroj
de la pasinteco,
en la lumon
de nova ĉeestanto,
kaj nova estonteco.
La forĵeto
de mallumo
estos la marko
de nia sukceso.