I have a feeling that my boat
has struck, down there in the depths,
against a great thing. And nothing happens!
Nothing . . . Silence . . . Waves . . .
-Nothing happens? Or has everything happened,
and am now standing quietly, in my new life?
–Juan Ramon Jimenez (translated by Robert Bly)
I memorized this poem twenty years ago. Even with all of the recitations I have made, outward and inward, its message has never fallen flat for me.
Check out bellascribe’s blog. That is the first place I ever heard of this poet. She shared “I Am Not I.” Other than bellascribe, you are only the second person ever who I’ve come across who knows him. I bet you will like bellascribe’s blog.
Thank you for telling me about Bellascribe–excellent blog, now added to my bloglist.
And here is the poem mentioned, in Spanish and English. Exquisite.
Yo no soy yo.
Soy e te
que va a mi lado sin yo verlo;
que, a veces, voy a ver,
y que, a veces, olvido.
El que calla, sereno, cuando hablo,
el que pardona, dulce, cuando odio,
el que pasea por donde no estoy,
el que quedara en pie cuando yo muera.
I am not I.
I am this one
Walking beside me whom I do not see.
Whom at times I manage to visit,
And at other times I forget.
The one who remains silent when I talk,
The one who forgives, sweet, when I hate,
The one who takes a walk when I am indoors,
The one who will remain standing when I die.
I read a lot of Juan Ramón Jiménez’ work in school. One of the first books I read in Spanish was “Platero y Yo”, a really sweet prose poem story.
The poem you have shared is a mystical one. Spanish is a wonderful language for mysticism.
Gorgeous, Deborah!