by Rafael Alberti (trans. Mark Strand)
None of us understood the dark secrets of the blackboards
nor why the armillary sphere seemed so remote when we looked at it.
We knew only that a circumference does not have to be round
and than an eclipse of the moon confuses the flowers
and speeds up the timing of the birds.
None of us understood anything:
not even why our fingers were made of India ink
and the afternoon closed compasses only to have the dawn open books.
We knew only that a straight line, if it likes, can be curved or broken
and that the wandering stars are children who don't know arithmetic.
Burke's Book Store
936 South Cooper
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 278-7484
www.burkesbooks.com
No comments:
Post a Comment