Venice masks

Wednesday 30 October 2013

This is what I most want - Osip Emilevich Mandelstam

This is what I most want
unpursued, alone
to reach beyond the light
that I am furthest from.

And for you to shine there –
no other happiness –
and learn, from starlight,
what its fire might suggest.

A star burns as a star,
light becomes light,
because our murmuring
strengthens us, and warms the night.

And I want to say to you
my little one, whispering,
I can only lift you toward the light
by means of this babbling.

Osip Emilevich Mandelstam (1891 - 1938) Russia
To his wife, Nadezhda

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please keep your comments relevant and free from abusive language. Thank you. Note that comments are moderated so it may be a day or two before your comment is posted - irrelevant or abusive comments will not be published.