Poetry
I quite like poetry. I really ought to both read more and talk about it more.
Today is, as Facebook and LJ are reminding me, National Poetry Day.
My dad had me hunting for readings for his wedding recently and as a result I ended up reading quirky love poetry and things. One that I rather liked, written originally in Estonian (an awesome language, albeit invented by sadists insofar as I can tell - who the hell needs 14 cases and what even is an ulative?), is "The Higgs boson" by Jürgen Rooste.
The Higgs boson
Love is like the Higgs boson.
Many believe it exists.
There are some, who claim they have
seen or measured it.
One might suspect some of them are lying.
Or are seeing Godknowswhat.
Love is like the Higgs boson:
it should give our life's elementary particles
mass. Mass, or a point at least.
But try as we may, we'll never find it,
never point it out precisely and with certainty
before ourselves and our God: ah, look -
now here's that Higgs boson; here and in this moment
lies the sole, eternal and true love.
It's sort of like with God, it's
sort of like with life itself - one must believe,
and it holds together; it has mass and a point then.
If one doesn't believe, everything goes to pieces and
disappears back into its initial state, like a child's sand castle.
The Higgs boson and love are somewhat similar -
there will always be people who don't believe in them,
there will always be the possibility that they won't be found, won't even be measured,
which doesn't make them exist any less if we very much need
that existence.
- translated by Adam Cullen
Original Estonian (and audio) here
Today is, as Facebook and LJ are reminding me, National Poetry Day.
My dad had me hunting for readings for his wedding recently and as a result I ended up reading quirky love poetry and things. One that I rather liked, written originally in Estonian (an awesome language, albeit invented by sadists insofar as I can tell - who the hell needs 14 cases and what even is an ulative?), is "The Higgs boson" by Jürgen Rooste.
The Higgs boson
Love is like the Higgs boson.
Many believe it exists.
There are some, who claim they have
seen or measured it.
One might suspect some of them are lying.
Or are seeing Godknowswhat.
Love is like the Higgs boson:
it should give our life's elementary particles
mass. Mass, or a point at least.
But try as we may, we'll never find it,
never point it out precisely and with certainty
before ourselves and our God: ah, look -
now here's that Higgs boson; here and in this moment
lies the sole, eternal and true love.
It's sort of like with God, it's
sort of like with life itself - one must believe,
and it holds together; it has mass and a point then.
If one doesn't believe, everything goes to pieces and
disappears back into its initial state, like a child's sand castle.
The Higgs boson and love are somewhat similar -
there will always be people who don't believe in them,
there will always be the possibility that they won't be found, won't even be measured,
which doesn't make them exist any less if we very much need
that existence.
- translated by Adam Cullen
Original Estonian (and audio) here