Donald Traxler's Poetry

Monday, August 19, 2019

He Is Black / הוא שחור

He is black
and he is white,
he is Christian
and he is Jew.
A picture made of
contrasts,
but somehow
all
are true.

הוא שחור
והוא לבן,
הוא נוצרי
והוא יהודי.
תמונה העשויה
מניגודים,
אבל איכשהו
את כל
אמיתיים.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

I Speak to You

I speak to you
in the middle of night,
as many speak to me
in the middle of sleep.
But what I say
is for the day.
Beauty and truth,
justice and mercy,
are everywhere attacked.
We, by showing them
to each other,
will keep them alive.
Only in this way
can we be free.

He Resolutely Steers

He resolutely steers
his craft for the stars,
leaving nothing and no one behind.

It Is through the Body (+translations)

It is through the body
that we reach the soul,
and it is through love
that we reach the Spirit.
Those who loved me
made me pregnant with
the Holy Spirit,
and I, them.
We pass this spark
from one to another,
and it gives Life.

C'est à travers le corps
que nous atteignons l'âme,
et c'est par amour
que nous atteignons l'Esprit.
Ceux qui m'ont aimé
m'ont rendu enceinte
avec le Saint-Esprit,
et moi, eux.
Nous passons cette étincelle
de l'un à l'autre,
et ça donne la vie.

זה דרך הגוף
שאנחנו מגיעים לנשמה,
וזה דרך אהבה
שנגיע לרוח.
אלה שאהבו אותי
גרם לי להיריון עם
רוח הקודש,
ואני, אותם.
אנחנו מעבירים את הניצוץ הזה
מאחד לשני,
וזה נותן חיים.

Es a través del cuerpo
que lleguemos al alma
y es a través del amor
que lleguemos al Espíritu.
Los que me amaron
me dejaron embarazado
con el Espíritu Santo,
y yo, a ellos.
Pasamos esta chispa
de uno a otro,
y da vida.

Ĝi estas tra la korpo
ke ni atingu la animon,
kaj estas per amo
ke ni atingu la Spiriton.
Tiuj, kiuj amis min
gravedigis min
kun la Sankta Spirito
kaj mi, ilin.
Ni pasas ĉi tiun fajreron
de unu al alia,
kaj ĝi donas Vivon.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

My Nakedness

My nakedness
is my statement,
my position,
my truth.
It is the instrument
of my art,
and the grill
through which
I confess
to the world.

She Hides, Victorian,

She hides, Victorian,
in the shadow.
He hides, naked,
in the light.
The world is full
of ghosts.

Nature and Scripture

Nature is what is. Scripture is what humans (mostly straight, patriarchal men) have written about it. To enshrine the prejudices of three thousand years ago, or of any era, is a mistake. Those prejudices can preclude a just society, prevent peace, and could even cost us our habitat.