Something about it more abrupt and stark when it's in English like this. There's something lost in translation when it's no longer in Spanish; It's more lyrical when it is.
But not to say it isn't still beautiful. It matches a lot of what I feel as well.
How did you relate with it, if I may be so bold as to ask?
I can believe it. A lot of the Sufi poetry I love loses much of it's meaning in translation.
It will take me time to digest the poem as a whole, but right away there are certain, small phrases that I can connect with. In particular 'we climb to the knife edge of the snow' and 'and the enraged ants / will throw themselves on the yellow skies that take refuge in the / eyes of cows' strike something in me.
Pieces of this work remind me of other lines - 'Every street lamp that I pass / Beats like a fatalistic drum, / And through the spaces of the dark / Midnight shakes the memory / As a madman shakes a dead geranium.'
Those are powerful lines. I find myself struck most by the lines of 'and that boy they buried this morning cried so much/ it was necessary to call out the dogs to keep him quiet.'
The thing I like best about poetry is that, while the writer may have been symbolizing or refering to something specific in his own mind, our own interpretations can mold it to have personal, private meaning. What these specific lines mean to us may have meant something completely different to Lorca. But that is the magic of verse; it speaks to us all differently.
And what poem is that other line from? It certainly shares a lot of similar symbolism. Darkness, memory, flowers. Dead flowers, to be precise. Hm.
Hm. I very much enjoy that first one. The second one...Heh, not to sound pretentious, but it's almost too simple, si? There isn't a whole lot left open to interpretation, really.
Or perhaps I just need to read it again.
Either way, thank you for sharing these with me. I'll certainly continue watching your posts for more of your selections. As I said, they're wonderful. You have very good taste in poetry.
Incidentally, this is the first time we've spoken to one another at length. I must admit, it's nice to do so. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you are a very intriguing creature and individual.
It is somewhat simple, but it's a warning and those tend to be easy to understand. The tone of it reminds me of the original fairytales - the ones with warnings to stay neat and clean or else something unknown will come for you.
I'm glad you enjoy what I've chosen and I appreciate being called intriguing.
Ah, yes. The cautionary tales of childhood. I prefered the ones that remained a bit more grim, really. The ones that weren't toned down for today's impressionable youth, as it were.
Again, I don't mean to be rude and you are welcome to tell me if I'm coming across that way, but what species are you, exactly? You remind me of a snake...
What we call ourselves doesn't translate into a written or vocal language, so that on my homeworld, the humans call us 'snake goblins'. I don't particularly like that, because we're neither snakes nor goblins.
While in the Nexus, someone came up with 'Ophidian', and I think I like that best.
Yes, while I can't argue the 'snake' part of it, I don't exactly approve of or agree with the 'goblin' half. I'm not overly fond of goblins and I think it's offensive that they'd label you as one.
My species doesn't exactly have a classification either. What's inside us does, but what they made us into doesn't. I'm an undead, but beyond that, we're nameless. People in the Nexus took to calling me a zombie, and while I took it up for simplicity's sake and, heh, found it to be an amusing term, it's not entirely accurate. But ah well.
How do you communicate with your own kind then, if your names do not translate into spoken or written tongue?
Oh, I've a few snakey things, like scales, but overall I'm more like something else. I'm warm-blooded and occasionally have feathers, too.
But, 'ah well', indeed. Some names are important, but this isn't one of them.
We do have a spoken language, but certain 'words' or ideas are visually expressed. To me, just speaking aloud is monotone. It's hard to judge emotion and intent.
Feathers? Really? That must be rather beautiful to see. You're really something quite amazing, Lan.
And I understand your sentiments towards vocal communication oh so very well, Lan. My own species verbalizes, certainly, and rely on it a great deal. But we have other means of talking as well. Something no other species can imitate or understand like we do.
...I get lonesome sometimes. The Hands, my bodyguards, are the only ones who I can still talk to in that unique way. And sometimes...si, it just makes me lonesome.
Thank you. *She's communicating by text or voice - can he tell that she's blushing? Who knows!*
There's no one here who talks like I do. I've found a few that can mimic me, but they're never -quite- right. They 'sound' like parrots or something similar.
Si, a friend of mine recently came up with a mechanical means to imitate my unique mode of communication. And while I understood her and was able to talk back, it just sounded obsene, to be honest. It made my hair stand on end and my skin crawl. It was just uncomfortable to 'hear' it. My guards 'heard' it as well and they growled for the rest of the day and wouldn't stop, it offended and upset them so.
...Not to devalue her attempts and discoveries. But I know how it feels to be faced with what seems like a pale imitation of a form of communication you hold most dear.
How is this unique mode of talking done for you, then? My own is a type of sonic frequency only my kind can hear and create.
Ooh, I can imagine how that does indeed add 'flavor' to spoken word. A visual indicator of what you're saying and feeling, as well as another way entirely of conveying thoughts. It's amazing and, again, most likely beautiful.
I continually fret that I will upset or offend you with how fascinating I find you to be, Lan.
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But not to say it isn't still beautiful. It matches a lot of what I feel as well.
How did you relate with it, if I may be so bold as to ask?
Reply
It will take me time to digest the poem as a whole, but right away there are certain, small phrases that I can connect with. In particular 'we climb to the knife edge of the snow' and 'and the enraged ants / will throw themselves on the yellow skies that take refuge in the / eyes of cows' strike something in me.
Pieces of this work remind me of other lines - 'Every street lamp that I pass / Beats like a fatalistic drum, / And through the spaces of the dark / Midnight shakes the memory / As a madman shakes a dead geranium.'
Reply
The thing I like best about poetry is that, while the writer may have been symbolizing or refering to something specific in his own mind, our own interpretations can mold it to have personal, private meaning. What these specific lines mean to us may have meant something completely different to Lorca. But that is the magic of verse; it speaks to us all differently.
And what poem is that other line from? It certainly shares a lot of similar symbolism. Darkness, memory, flowers. Dead flowers, to be precise. Hm.
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It's from 'Rhapsody on a Windy Night' by T.S. Eliot.
It's not quite in the same theme, but you might like 'The Two' by Auden.
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Or perhaps I just need to read it again.
Either way, thank you for sharing these with me. I'll certainly continue watching your posts for more of your selections. As I said, they're wonderful. You have very good taste in poetry.
Incidentally, this is the first time we've spoken to one another at length. I must admit, it's nice to do so. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you are a very intriguing creature and individual.
Reply
I'm glad you enjoy what I've chosen and I appreciate being called intriguing.
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Again, I don't mean to be rude and you are welcome to tell me if I'm coming across that way, but what species are you, exactly? You remind me of a snake...
Reply
What we call ourselves doesn't translate into a written or vocal language, so that on my homeworld, the humans call us 'snake goblins'. I don't particularly like that, because we're neither snakes nor goblins.
While in the Nexus, someone came up with 'Ophidian', and I think I like that best.
Reply
My species doesn't exactly have a classification either. What's inside us does, but what they made us into doesn't. I'm an undead, but beyond that, we're nameless. People in the Nexus took to calling me a zombie, and while I took it up for simplicity's sake and, heh, found it to be an amusing term, it's not entirely accurate. But ah well.
How do you communicate with your own kind then, if your names do not translate into spoken or written tongue?
Reply
But, 'ah well', indeed. Some names are important, but this isn't one of them.
We do have a spoken language, but certain 'words' or ideas are visually expressed. To me, just speaking aloud is monotone. It's hard to judge emotion and intent.
Reply
And I understand your sentiments towards vocal communication oh so very well, Lan. My own species verbalizes, certainly, and rely on it a great deal. But we have other means of talking as well. Something no other species can imitate or understand like we do.
...I get lonesome sometimes. The Hands, my bodyguards, are the only ones who I can still talk to in that unique way. And sometimes...si, it just makes me lonesome.
Reply
There's no one here who talks like I do. I've found a few that can mimic me, but they're never -quite- right. They 'sound' like parrots or something similar.
Reply
...Not to devalue her attempts and discoveries. But I know how it feels to be faced with what seems like a pale imitation of a form of communication you hold most dear.
How is this unique mode of talking done for you, then? My own is a type of sonic frequency only my kind can hear and create.
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I continually fret that I will upset or offend you with how fascinating I find you to be, Lan.
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