Poem
Giovanni Quessep
Song of the two roses
Don\'t say anything, listen to the starsPerhaps they will tell you something
of the rose that in your garden is
and of the rose of time,
- the one that is dead or alive -
in the burning sand.
Beautiful the rose that in your garden is,
not the bitter sorceress that calls you
since your birth, obscure rose
that lights you the end and the banks
of the Acheron. Don’t talk, you are alone
with your unutterable nothingness, for always distant
from the deepest blue. Look then
if the water goes into an island
where the roses grow fateful or fortunate;
and write and sing. And hear the stars
that speak from a page lost.
© Translation: 2003, Raúl Jaime Gaviria
Cántico de las dos rosas
Cántico de las dos rosas
No digas nada, escucha a las estrellasTal vez te digan algo
de la rosa que hay en tu jardín
y la rosa del tiempo,
-la que está viva o muerta-
en la arena que arde.
La rosa que hay en tu jardín es bella,
no la amarga hechicera que te llama
desde tu nacimiento, rosa oscura
que te alumbra el final y las orillas
del Aqueronte. No hables, que estás solo
con tu nada indecible, siempre lejos
del azul más profundo. Mira pues
si el agua va a una isla donde crecen
rosas ya sin ventura o venturosas;
y escribe y canta. Y oye a las estrellas
que hablan desde una página perdida.
© 1998, Giovanni Quessep
From: Revista Prometeo
From: Revista Prometeo
Poems
Poems of Giovanni Quessep
Close
Song of the two roses
Don\'t say anything, listen to the starsPerhaps they will tell you something
of the rose that in your garden is
and of the rose of time,
- the one that is dead or alive -
in the burning sand.
Beautiful the rose that in your garden is,
not the bitter sorceress that calls you
since your birth, obscure rose
that lights you the end and the banks
of the Acheron. Don’t talk, you are alone
with your unutterable nothingness, for always distant
from the deepest blue. Look then
if the water goes into an island
where the roses grow fateful or fortunate;
and write and sing. And hear the stars
that speak from a page lost.
© 2003, Raúl Jaime Gaviria
From: Revista Prometeo
From: Revista Prometeo
Song of the two roses
Don\'t say anything, listen to the starsPerhaps they will tell you something
of the rose that in your garden is
and of the rose of time,
- the one that is dead or alive -
in the burning sand.
Beautiful the rose that in your garden is,
not the bitter sorceress that calls you
since your birth, obscure rose
that lights you the end and the banks
of the Acheron. Don’t talk, you are alone
with your unutterable nothingness, for always distant
from the deepest blue. Look then
if the water goes into an island
where the roses grow fateful or fortunate;
and write and sing. And hear the stars
that speak from a page lost.
© 2003, Raúl Jaime Gaviria
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