Walking man, the road is your footprints, nothing else
--Joan Manuel Serrat, Cantares
Greetings, reader!
Today, as I scratched my belly, I found myself thinking about the long and winding road that's brought me to where I am. Where is that?
Well, apparently, I've become a neighbor of Courage the Cowardly Dog, who, as fame would have it, lives in the mythical Middle of Nowhere.
Perhaps it's just nostalgia of things lost: those which I dismissed and those that left me behind. However, only recently I started to notice that my ages-old advice is also true for myself: we are surrounded by love.
For some, perhaps, it is the love of and for God. For some others, it might be just the joyful touch of a set of whiskers and maybe a comforting purr in a cold night. And even for some others, it might be some odd fellows who go unnoticed until the most trivial moment reveals them to be as amazing as unexpected.
Tempted as I was to give in to sorrow and such, I am thankful for being lost in this road, as now I can see the medieval Ubi Sunt in a new, and different own way. It's no longer sadness about the things long lost. It's about realizing that everything is transient, and every single second, every single gift and kindness, are the accents in the work of God. I feel fortunate and thankful for them all, as well as for their opposites: they all made me what I am today.
So, I'm no longer sad, nor do I feel abandoned anymore. If anything, I'm dazzled by the infinite posibilities, and perhaps a bit intrigued by the future. I'm finally standing here, with no roads to follow and nothing to make me stay. It seems that, after all, it's a beautiful day.
Fu-Manchu
The Seven Forests of Vancouver, WA
Wednesday, December the 6th, 2013, 18:42 PST
Permíteme contarte que esta canción siempre me ha fascinado, especialmente dos líneas de ella. Ahora que me he dado cuenta al fin de mi soledad y lejanía, me parece pertinente compartirte la letra de esta pieza de poesía... Empezamos?
Allow me to tell you that this song has always fascinated me, specially two lines in it. Now that I finally realized my loneliness and remoteness, I think it's proper to share with you the lyrics of this piece of poetry... Shall we begin?
Al lado del camino, por Fito Páez On the roadside, by Fito Páez
Me gusta estar al lado del camino
I like to be on the roadside
fumando el humo mientras todo pasa
smoking the smoke as everything goes by
me gusta abrir los ojos y estar vivo
I like to open my eyes and be alive
tener que vérmelas con la resaca
having to deal with the hangover
entonces navegar se hace preciso
then it's precise to navigate
en barcos que se estrellen en la nada
on ships that crash into the nothing
vivir atormentado de sentido
to live tormented by sense
creo que ésta, sí, es la parte mas pesada
i think this is, indeed, the toughest part
En tiempos donde nadie escucha a nadie
In times when no one listens to nobody
en tiempos donde todos contra todos
in times when everyone is against everybody
en tiempos egoístas y mezquinos
in times selfish and mean
en tiempos donde siempre estamos solos
in times when we are always alone
habrá que declararse incompetente
there will have to declare oneself incompetent
en todas las materias de mercado
in all the subjects of market
habrá que declararse un inocente
there will have to declare oneself innocent
o habrá que ser abyecto y desalmado
or there will have to be abject and soulless
yo ya no pertenezco a ningún "ismo"
I no longer belong to any "ism"
me considero vivo y enterrado
I consider myself alive and buried
yo puse las canciones en tu walkman
I put the songs in your walkman
el tiempo a mí me puso en otro lado
time put me somewhere else
tendré que hacer lo que es y no debido
I'll have to do what is and is not due
tendré que hacer el bien y hacer el daño
I'll have to do the good and do the harm
no olvides que el perdón es lo divino
do not forget that forgiveness is the divine
y errar a veces suele ser humano
and to err sometimes happens to be human
No es bueno hacerse de enemigos
It's not good to make enemies
que no estén a la altura del conflicto
who are not up to the conflict
que piensan que hacen una guerra
who think they make a war
y se hacen pis encima como chicos
and pee themselves like children
que rondan por siniestros ministerios
who go around through sinister ministries
haciendo la parodia del artista
making parody of the artist
que todo lo que brilla en este mundo
as everything that shines in this world
tan sólo les da caspa y les da envidia
only gives them spite and gives them envy
yo era un pibe triste y encantado
I was a sad lad and enchanted
de Beatles, caña Legui y maravillas
by Beatles, caña Legui and wonders
los libros, las canciones y los pianos
the books, the songs and pianos
el cine, las traiciones, los enigmas
cinema, treasons, the enigmas
mi padre, la cerveza, las pastillas, los misterios, el whisky malo
my father, beer, the pills, the mysteries, bad whisky
los óleos, el amor, los escenarios
oil paintings, love, the stages
el hambre, el frío, el crimen, el dinero y mis 10 tías
Hace no mucho, lector, hará cosa de un año, que por obra y gracia de mi padre miré The Grey, cinta de Liam Neeson cuyo trasfondo es un breve poema de cuatro líneas, el cual carece de título. Ese poema ha estado en mi cabeza desde entonces, y me ha ayudado a dar una nueva perspectiva a distintos pensamientos que por largo tiempo he meditado.
Not long ago, reader, about a year, by work of my father I watched The Grey, a Liam Neeson movie whose background is a brief four-line poem, which lacks a title. That poem has been in my head since then, and it's helped me get a new perspective on different thoughts that I've pondered for a long time.
Hoy, cuando después de tantos años finalmente acometí un reto que había aplazado, recordé esas líneas y quise saber más. Y aunque el poema aparece completo en la cinta y da mucho para comentar (y aún más en el contexto de la película), yo seguía teniendo el deseo, quizá banal, de que fuera parte de un texto más largo.
Today, when after so many years I finally undertook a challenge I'd procrastinated , I remembered those lines and wanted to know more. And although the poem is shown complete in the film and gives a lot to comment (even more within the context of the movie), I still had the wish, maybe trivial, that it was part of a longer text.
Aparentemente, un escritor en WordPress que se hace llamar Owaahh sintió el mismo deseo, y decidió extender por sí mismo el poema, de un modo afortunado en mi opinión. No me permitas, lector, que te siga aburriendo con cháchara innecesaria. Déjame intentar una traducción...
Apparently, a writer at WordPress who goes by Owaahh had the same wish, and decided to extend the poem by himself, in a fortunate way I think. Do not allow me, reader, to keep boring you with unnecessary chitchat. Allow me to try a translation... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once more into the fray (Live and Die on this day) Una vez más a la contienda (Vivir y Morir este día) "Once more into the fray Una vez más a la contienda Into the last good fight I'll ever know..." A la última pelea buena que conoceré..." My penance piety does not suffice Para mi penitencia la piedad no basta As the fray takes toll upon my mortal Mientras la contienda desgasta mi (cuerpo) mortal As the dagger slices and dices Mientras la daga corta y parte The fort crumbles... El fuerte se derrumba... Hope and pray I be reborn Espero y rezo por mi renacer To dive into the fray one other Para adentrarme en la contienda otro (día) To face demons whose fire I stoke Para afrontar demonios cuyo fuego avivé That my soul for peace to have Que mi alma de la paz sea posesión My heart for ants to feed Mi corazón a las hormigas alimente Yet death hath become this life I boast Sin embargo la muerte se ha convertido en esta vida que ostento All good fights have come to this Todas las peleas buenas han llegado a esto The moment on which I stand El momento en que estoy de pie The weapon upon my hand El arma en mi mano Broken sheath under my feet Funda rota bajo mis pies On this day I am born En este día nazco On this day I die En este día muero I must hope and pray Debo tener esperanza y orar That one day I learn to hope and pray Porque un día aprenda a tener esperanza y orar Eyes gaze beyond the clouds (Mis) ojos miran más allá de las nubes For an omen I might see Porque un presagio podría mirar This fort mine blessing and curse Este fuerte, mi bendición y condena "...Live and Die on this day. "...Vivir y morir este día. Live and Die on this day." Vivir y morir este día."
"Once more into the fray Into the last good fight I'll ever know.
Live and die on this day.
Live and die on this day."
Sterling
Los Siete Bosques de Vancouver, WA
Miércoles, 17 de julio de 2013
08:18pm PDT
