I find myself spellbound by this translation:
Grey, Mouse, Candle Paul Colinet
Translated from the French by Rochelle Ratner
Grey, the depths, the labyrinths, the sleepingbags; grey, the patient stairs; sly grey, grey brain, mischievous brain, grey, granaries of grey. Grey, the week; grey, the attic window overlooking grey fields, heaven’s grey eye, the messenger on the grey horse; bullet music, the angel caught in his grey snares.
Mouse, clever mouse who smiles with tiny grey eyes which go cri-cri; pointed mouse, spinning mouse, twinkling mouse; mouse who dots the grey quilt; mouse who says oui with a little cry, in the heaps of folded grey.
Candle, it's a castle. Day castle, night castle, castle of mice; castle of cats; castle that sings, winged castle, song of wings. Circle of virgins, candle-virgins radiantly turning, with bouquets of eyes and velvet mouths. Lace-collared candle, fairy candle, candle of Orpheus, French candle greyed from mouse-nests.
from a French poet, sent to me by my son, Slick.
About Me
- Joyce Ellen Davis
- 1. In dreams I am often young and thin with long blond hair. 2. In real life I am no longer young, or thin, or blonde. 3. My back hurts. 4. I hate to sleep alone. (Fortunately I don't have to!) 5. My great grandfather had 2 wives at once. 6. I wish I had more self-discipline. (I was once fired from a teaching position in a private school because they said I was "too unstructured and undisciplined." --Who, me??? Naaaahhh....) 7. I do not blame my parents for this. Once, at a parent-teacher conference, the teacher told me my little boy was "spacey." We ALL are, I told her. The whole fan damily is spacey. She thought I was kidding. I wasn't. 8. I used to travel with a theater reperatory company. My parents weren't happy about this. 9. My mother was afraid that I would run off and paint flowers on my cheeks and live in a commune, and grow vegetables. I once smoked pot. ONE TIME. 10. I don't drink or smoke. (Or swear, much. Well, I drink milk, and water, and orange juice, and stuff. Cocoa. I love Pepsi.) 11. Most of my friends are invisible. 12. I am a poet and a writer. All of my writing on these pages is copyrighted. Borrowing (without acknowledgment) is a sin.
BOOKS I HAVE WRITTEN (click on image to buy)
Chrysalis
In Willy's House
TRIPTYCH--Three Short Stories
A Book of Fours
Pepek the Assassin
My Grandkids
Awards
7 comments:
Indeed, this translations cast certain magic spell to the mind ~ the unusual translation summons ideas, creative ideas than make me want to write.
Thanks to you and your son for sharing this.
I wish you well.
~ Jeques
wow, I like the flow of this, even in translation. Thanks for sharing. :)
Where, pray tell, would we be without our imaginations?
In the grey pit of human mediaocrity?
;)
rel
How do we live without imaginations?
Great thoughts...
insanely inconclusive
Imagination is the stuff of culture, science, religion - and produces beautiful words.
I like it, too! The spell it casts is wide and encompassing...
Beautiful, really exquisite.
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