He Comes from Ancient History / Il vient de l'histoire ancienne / Él viene de la historia antigua / Ele vem da história antiga / Ex antiqua historia venit

He comes from ancient history,
a conundrum and a mystery.

Il vient de l'histoire ancienne,
une énigme et un mystère.

Él viene de la historia antigua,
Un enigma y un misterio.

Ele vem da história antiga,
um enigma e um mistério.

Ex antiqua historia venit,
conundrum et misterium est.

Text and image © 2019 by Donaldus Filius Jacobi Traxlerius.

He Looks Out At Us / Il nous regarde / Nos mira / Ele olha para nós

He looks out at us inquiringly,
wondering how we will meet the future,
wondering if we
are ready
for the task.

Il nous regarde d'un air interrogateur,
se demandant comment nous allons rencontrer l'avenir,
se demandant si nous
sommes prêts
pour la tâche.

Nos mira inquisitivamente,
preguntándose cómo nos encontraremos con el futuro,
preguntándose si
estamos listos
para la tarea.

Ele olha para nós interrogativamente,
querendo saber como vamos encontrar o futuro,
perguntando se nós
estamos prontos
para a tarefa.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.

He Is the Receptor / Il est le récepteur / Él es el receptor / Ele é o receptor

He is the receptor
and the transmitter,
communicator
of dreams,
and wielder
of light.

Il est le récepteur
et l'émetteur,
communicateur
de rêves,
et porteur
de la lumière.

Él es el receptor
y el transmisor,
comunicador
de sueños,
y portador
de luz.

Ele é o receptor
e o transmissor,
comunicador
dos sonhos
e portador
de luz.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.

He Brings Mysteries / Il apporte des mystères / Él trae misterios / Ele traz mistérios

He brings mysteries with him,
none can say why,
from the depths of hell,
from the dome of the sky.

Il apporte des mystères avec lui,
personne ne peut dire pourquoi,
des profondeurs de l'enfer,
du dôme du ciel.

Él trae misterios consigo,
nadie puede decir por qué,
desde las profundidades del infierno,
desde la cúpula del cielo.

Ele traz mistérios com ele,
ninguém pode dizer o porquê,
das profundezas do inferno,
da cúpula do céu.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.

Samhain Thoughts / Smaointe Samhain / Pensées pour samhain / Pensamientos por samhain

On this day when the veil is thin,
come in, come in.
Join us in our circle,
join us around the fire,
though it be but for moments,
though it be but an hour.
Ye who have gone before
can speak to us now,
sharing your wisdom,
celebrating life.
Come in, then, come in,
now that the veil is thin.

An lá seo nuair a bhíonn an veil tanaí,
teacht isteach, teacht isteach.
Bí linn inár gciorcal,
bheith linn timpeall an tine,
cé gur chuimhneacháin amháin atá sé,
cé nach bhfuil ann ach uair an chloig.
Chuaigh tú romhainn agus
labhraíonn tú linn anois.
ag tabhairt eagna,
ag ceiliúradh an tsaoil.
Tar isteach, ansin, teacht isteach,
anois go bhfuil an veil tanaí.

En ce jour où le voile est mince,
entrez, entrez
Rejoignez-nous dans notre cercle,
rejoignez-nous autour du feu,
même si ce n'est que pour des moments,
bien que ce ne soit qu'une heure.
Vous qui êtes allé avant
peut nous parler maintenant,
partager votre sagesse,
célébrer la vie.
Entrez, alors, entrez,
maintenant que le voile est mince.

En este día cuando el velo es delgado,
entra, entra.
Únete a nosotros en nuestro círculo,
únete a nosotros alrededor del fuego,
aunque sea solo por momentos,
aunque sea solo una hora.
Vosotros que habéis ido antes
podeis hablar con nosotros ahora,
compartiendo vuestra sabiduría,
celebrando la vida.
Entra, entonces, entra,
ahora que el velo es delgado.

Neste dia em que o véu é fino,
entre, entre.
Junte-se a nós em nosso círculo,
junte-se a nós ao redor do fogo,
embora seja por alguns momentos,
embora demore apenas uma hora.
Vós que já foram antes
pode falar conosco agora,
compartilhando sua sabedoria,
celebrando a vida.
Entre, então, entre,
agora que o véu está fino.

Text and image by Donald Jacobson Traxler. Use freely.

The Languages

Readers may wonder why I choose the languages I do for posting. Most of the time I write in English, which is my native language, and provide translations into French, Spanish, and Portuguese. It's not because I'm Eurocentric (I'm not), but because these are the languages, along with Italian and Esperanto, that I know well enough to edit the output of a translation program. But those are not the only languages in which I post.

There was a time when I frequently wrote in Portunhol, a mixed language from the Uruguay-Brazil border.I like the language, and I like that it does not belong to any one country. But there is no translation program for Portunhol, and I no longer live in Uruguay. Instead I post in standard Spanish and standard Portuguese, both international languages with many millions of speakers.

My choice of language is also determined in part by the subject matter of my writing, which is mostly poetry. I've recently come to realize that French is the best translation language for poetry written in English. This has a lot to do with the linguistic history of England. But if, for example, the poem is about the Holocaust, I may include a translation into Yiddish or Hebrew, although my editing of the output of the translation program is likely to be faulty. If, on the other hand, the subject of the poem is close to Hindu spirituality, I may include a translation into Hindi (because machine translation into Sanskrit is not available). If the theme of the poem is universality of some kind, I may include a translation into Esperanto, a language that I have known quite well for almost sixty years.

Many readers will have noticed my frequent inclusion of Udugi. It's a constructed language, based on Cherokee (Tsalagi, ꮳꮃꭹ) vocabulary and a simple, Esperanto-like grammar. I use it for reasons that are both sentimental and practical. First of all, I am part Cherokee through my maternal grandfather. He lived in Oklahoma, but the Cherokee genes go back to eighteenth-century North Carolina. I also feel close to Native American spirituality, and I guess all of that is the sentimental part. But there really is a practical part, as well.

Forty years ago the Cherokee language had about 26,000 speakers; now it has about 12,000, which is just 3% of its claimed tribal membership of 400,000. It has been said that you don't speak Cherokee unless you speak it from the cradle. It is, by far, the most grammatically complex language that I've studied, and adults are just not learning it. How many fluent speakers will it have in another generation? I've seen this movie before, and I know how it ends. "Udugi" means "hope," and I believe that the Udugi language is the best hope to save any part of the Tsalagi language.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.

There Are Some Things / Il y a des choses / Hay algunas cosas / Tem algumas coisas

There are some things
that I cannot explain,
as a writer,
as a photographer,
or as a scholar.
I shall let
those things be.

Il y a des choses
que je ne peux pas expliquer,
en tant qu'écrivain,
en tant que photographe,
ou en tant que savant.
Je laisserai ces choses en paix.

Hay algunas cosas
que no puedo explicar,
como escritor,
como fotógrafo,
ni como un erudito.
Dejaré esas cosas en paz.

Tem algumas coisas
que eu não posso explicar,
como escritor,
como fotógrafo,
ou como um estudioso.
Vou deixar essas coisas em paz.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.