I wanted my first posting to be a poem by a Russian poet. So, here is a short verse by Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837). Translation by Walter Arndt.
From Pindemonte (1836)
I have but little use for those loud "rights" - the phrase
That seems to addle people's minds these days.
I do not fault the gods, nor to a soul begrudge it
That I'm denied the bliss of wrangling over a Budget,
Or keeping king from fighting king in martial glee;
Nor do I worry if the Press is free
To hoax the nitwits, or if censor-pokers
Spoil journalistic games for sundry jokers;
All this is merely "words, words, words" you see.
Quite other, better rights are dear to me;
To be dependent on king, or on a nation -
Is it not all the same? Good riddance! But to dance
To no one else's fiddle, foster and advance
one's private self alone; before gold braid and power
with neither conscience, thought, nor spine to cower;
to move now here, now there with fancy's whim for law,
at Nature's godlike works feel ecstasy and awe,
and start before the gifts of art and joyous adoration -
there's bliss for you! There are your rights ...
Embracing my rights
ReplyDeleteEmbracing the world caused my head to explode.
Obama is deadlocked and the budget implodes.
The deficit's causing our credit to stink,
same for the bankrupt Romans, Spaniards and Greek.
Assad, Gaddafi, and Mubarak they battle
their own blessed people they've treated like cattle.
News of the World it's hard to believe
the prying, the lying, and how they deceived.
"I wasn't involved!" Cameron's caught in the burdock
“Please blame it on him, that evil one, Murdoch.”
"Just to live!" like Yuri Z's chant
leave me in peace; please don't rave, please don't rant.
Away from my ears, away from my life
keep the headlines out; I won't embrace strife.
I'll settle for a sofa, a dog, and a tea
and in Chilly Dog style embrace poetry.
From Keith as still probs with SmileysStan's first poem: 'From Pindemonte' By Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin [Founder of modern Russian poetry]
ReplyDelete'Liberte! Egalite! Fraternitie!
Wonderful poem, summed up by the above; [Those pesky French have all the best phrases-only joking-What a beautiful language].
So difficult to imagine the hardships Pushkin and his contempories had to endure, but we do get an inkling in his writing, the yearning for a permanent, but unobtainable freedom.
Oh to be a 'Trappist Monk' or total 'Recluse' for I fear that would be the only way to live Pushkin's poem in the world we have created. However, we can all experience moments together to reach our personal Utopia. 'Vive la Denali' and other places of mystery! Where we and our imagination can run rife and rule.
Pushkin died so tragically at a young age, but his poetry and verse live on both in his writing and operas by Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky, wonderful tributes in their own right.
To embrace freedom - I do not have the talent of my contemporaries like Purplehaze or Smiley let alone Puskin but I do embrace the spirit of this poem because with the events of the past week i.e the demise of the Murdoch dynastry and the wobbles it caused to the powers of police ,politics and media and the egocentric mania of one man in Norway and the pain that followed this poem this month of July 2011 raised my awareness of the balance bewteen community and individualism and our responsibilities in maitaining that balance thr', both pespectives
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ReplyDeleteThis poem reminds me of why I don't have patience for the sensationalism of media and battles of ideologies. I just want to live peacefully and happily in my own little world. I know it is selfish, but Pushkin agrees with it....And it feels right.
ReplyDeleteLiving peacefully is not selfish rather one of the many graces that makes life worth living .Living patiently is the one I struggle with most but others are teaching me the power of peaceful listening and I appreciate it very much .
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