A few days ago, I came accross a poem by Pablo Neruda that stroke me as particularly beautiful and inspiring. The underlying message is simple yet frequently forgotten: in spite of all difficulties, life can be great when we gather up the courage to look at it straight in the eye; not from the perspective of a master who just commands, not as a servant who just fears and obeys, but rather as a friend or a lover in a journey of discovery. Interestingly enough, this line of thought kind of reflects the spirit with which this blog was conceived. Enjoy.
Oda a la vida Ode to life
La noche entera The entire night
con un hacha armed with a hatchet,
me ha golpeado el dolor, has broken me with grief,
pero el sueño but sleep
pasó lavando como un agua oscura like dark water washed away
piedras ensangrentadas. the bloody stones.
Hoy de nuevo estoy vivo. Today again I am alive.
De nuevo Again,
te levanto, I lift you up,
vida, life,
sobre mis hombros. upon my shoulders.
Oh vida, Oh life,
copa clara, clear cup,
de pronto suddenly
te llenas you fill up with
de agua sucia, dirty water,
de vino muerto, lifeless wine,
de agonía, de pérdidas, agony, losses, and
de sobrecogedoras telarañas, overhanging spider webs,
y muchos creen and many believe
que ese color de infierno this nightmarish tint
guardarás para siempre. you will guard forever.
No es cierto. That is not true.
Pasa una noche lenta, A lingering night passes,
pasa un solo minuto just one minute passes
y todo cambia. and everything changes.
Se llena Life's cup
de transparencia fills up
la copa de la vida. with transparent brilliance.
El trabajo espacioso The wide quest
nos espera. awaits us.
De un solo golpe nacen las palomas. Doves are born in a solitary burst.
Se establece la luz sobre la tierra. Light reigns again over the earth.
Vida, los pobres Life, the poor
poetas poets
te creyeron amarga, believed you to be bitter.
no salieron contigo They did not rise from bed
de la cama with you
con el viento del mundo. and face the winds of the world.
Recibieron los golpes They received beatings
sin buscarte, without searching for you.
se barrenaron They tunneled
un agujero negro a black hole
y fueron sumergiéndose and continued their journeys,
en el luto submerged in mourning,
de un pozo solitario. drowning in a well of loneliness.
No es verdad, vida, That is not true, life.
eres You are
bella beautiful
como la que yo amo like my beloved;
y entre los senos tienes between your breasts,
olor a menta. the perfume of spearmint sings.
Vida, Life,
eres you are
una máquina plena, a complete instrument,
felicidad, sonido happiness, sounds
de tormenta, ternura of storm, tenderness
de aceite delicado. of mellow oil.
Vida, Life,
eres como una viña: you are like a vineyard:
atesoras la luz y la repartes you treasure and share light
transformada en racimo. in the fruits of transformation.
El que de ti reniega Whoever disowns you
que espere should wait
un minuto, una noche, a minute, a night,
un año corto o largo, a short or long year,
que salga to emerge
de su soledad mentirosa, from his mistaken solitude,
que indague y luche, junte should search and fight, should join
sus manos a otras manos, hands with other hands.
que no adopte ni halague should not adopt, should not praise
a la desdicha, misfortune,
que la rechace dándole should reject it, giving it the form
forma de muro, of a wall,
como a la piedra los picapedreros, like the stonecutter with the stone.
que corte la desdicha should take scissors to misfortune,
y se haga con ella and make
pantalones. a pair of trousers.
La vida nos espera Life waits for us
a todos all of us
los que amamos who cherish
el salvaje the wild perfume of the sea,
olor a mar y menta and the celebration of spearmint
que tiene entre los senos. nestled between its breasts.
(From the book "Odas Elementales", by Pablo Neruda)
