I
Living is no laughing matter:
you must live with great seriousness
like a squirrel, for example--
I mean without looking for something beyond and above living,
I mean living must be your whole occupation.
Living is no laughing matter:
you must take it seriously,
so much so and to such a degree
......
FROM harmony, from heavenly harmony,
This universal frame began:
When nature underneath a heap
Of jarring atoms lay,
And could not heave her head,
The tuneful voice was heard from high,
'Arise, ye more than dead!'
Then cold, and hot, and moist, and dry,
In order to their stations leap,
And Music's power obey.
......
I am the echo of your wants,
a whisper you can’t chase.
And when you reach for me,
I’m gone—like smoke you can't erase.
I've got some tricks tucked up my sleeve.
I've become someone I hate.
If you're drawn to pain, come closer—
I’ll hand you all my weight.
......
When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail,
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
When Nag, the wayside cobra, hears the careless foot of man,
He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can,
But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail -
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
......
Have the poets left in the garment a place for a patch to be patched by me; and did you know the abode of your beloved after reflection?2
The vestige of the house, which did not speak, confounded thee, until it spoke by means of signs, like one deaf and dumb.
Verily, I kept my she-camel there long grumbling, with a yearning at the blackened stones, keeping and standing firm in their own places.
It is the abode of a friend, languishing in her glance, submissive in the embrace, pleasant of smile.
Oh house of 'Ablah situated at Jiwaa, talk with me about those who resided in you. Good morning to you, O house of 'Ablah, and be safe from ruin.
......
Steel skies and concrete lies,
we march beneath fluorescent eyes.
Truth is sold and silence bought,
justice rots,while power's sought.
But in our fists,the fire stays-
a spark that cuts through darkest days.
We scream,we fight, we won't forgive-
we rage,because we dare to live.
I am the echo of your wants,
a whisper you can’t chase.
And when you reach for me,
I’m gone—like smoke you can't erase.
I've got some tricks tucked up my sleeve.
I've become someone I hate.
If you're drawn to pain, come closer—
I’ll hand you all my weight.
......
It rises like smoke,
choking thought,
clouding breath.
Fingers curl,
teeth press together,
and silence becomes a scream inside.
Walls are not high enough,
words not sharp enough,
......
One step back, two steps forward,
Swing around and do the dance,
Keep it fast, a little awkward
A whole world audience to entrance.
Now you've got them captivated
Up the tempo, raise the heat,
Some may need to be sedated
As they wither from your beat.
......
Ik kijk in je ogen
en zie stormen
geen woorden
alleen vonken.
Je mond strak
je adem zwaar
je handen trillen
maar raken niets.
......