Poem
Jorge Gaitán Durán
DEATH COULD NOT BEAT ME
Death could not beat me.I battled and lived. The
restless body against the soul,
to the white flight of the day.
In the ruins of Troy I wrote:
“Everything is death or love”
and since then I had no
rest. I said in Rome:
“There are no gods, just time”
and since then I had no
redemption. I silenced myself in Spain,
since the voice of rage defied
forgetfulness with my marrow,
my humors, my blood; and
since then the fire
has not stopped.
May the foreign land
serve as a resting place
for the hero. May fresh grass
sing like a bee of the dust
by his eyelids. I do not surrender:
I want to live in war every day,
as if it were the last one.
My heart battles against the sea.
© Translation: 2004, Dina Moscovici
NO PUDO LA MUERTE VENCERME
NO PUDO LA MUERTE VENCERME
No pudo la muerte vencerme.Batallé y viví. El cuerpo
infatigable contra el alma,
al blanco vuelo del día.
En las ruinas de Troya escribí:
“Todo es muerte o amor”,
y desde entonces no tuve
descanso. Dije en Roma:
“No hay dioses, sólo tiempo”,
y desde entonces no tuve
redención. Callé en España,
pues la voz de la ira desafiaba
al olvido con mis tuétanos,
mis humores, mi sangre; y
desde entonces no ha cesado
el incendio.
De reposo
le sirva tierra extranjera
al héroe. Cante fresca hierba
como abeja del polvo por sus
párpados. Yo no me rindo:
quiero vivir cada día en
guerra, como si fuera el último.
Mi corazón batalla contra el mar.
© 1997, Jorge Gaitán Durán
From: Si mañana despierto y otros poemas
Publisher: Igitur/Mito, Editorial Colcultura
From: Si mañana despierto y otros poemas
Publisher: Igitur/Mito, Editorial Colcultura
Poems
Poems of Jorge Gaitán Durán
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DEATH COULD NOT BEAT ME
Death could not beat me.I battled and lived. The
restless body against the soul,
to the white flight of the day.
In the ruins of Troy I wrote:
“Everything is death or love”
and since then I had no
rest. I said in Rome:
“There are no gods, just time”
and since then I had no
redemption. I silenced myself in Spain,
since the voice of rage defied
forgetfulness with my marrow,
my humors, my blood; and
since then the fire
has not stopped.
May the foreign land
serve as a resting place
for the hero. May fresh grass
sing like a bee of the dust
by his eyelids. I do not surrender:
I want to live in war every day,
as if it were the last one.
My heart battles against the sea.
© 2004, Dina Moscovici
From: Si mañana despierto y otros poemas
From: Si mañana despierto y otros poemas
DEATH COULD NOT BEAT ME
Death could not beat me.I battled and lived. The
restless body against the soul,
to the white flight of the day.
In the ruins of Troy I wrote:
“Everything is death or love”
and since then I had no
rest. I said in Rome:
“There are no gods, just time”
and since then I had no
redemption. I silenced myself in Spain,
since the voice of rage defied
forgetfulness with my marrow,
my humors, my blood; and
since then the fire
has not stopped.
May the foreign land
serve as a resting place
for the hero. May fresh grass
sing like a bee of the dust
by his eyelids. I do not surrender:
I want to live in war every day,
as if it were the last one.
My heart battles against the sea.
© 2004, Dina Moscovici
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