The Voice

The back of my crib was against the library, That gloomy Babel, where novels, science, fabliaux, Everything, Latin ashes and Greek dust, Were mingled. I was no taller than a folio. Two voices used to speak to me. One, sly and firm, Would say: "The Earth's a cake full of sweetness; I can (and then there'd be no end to your pleasure!) Give you an appetite of equal size." And the other: "Come travel in dreams Beyond the possible, beyond the known!" And it would sing like the wind on the strand, That wailing ghost, one knows not whence it comes, That caresses the ear and withal frightens it. I answered you: "Yes! gentle voice!" It's from that time That dates what may be called alas! my wound And my fatality. Behind the scenes Of life's vastness, in the abyss' darkest corner I see distinctly bizarre worlds, And ecstatic victim of my own clairvoyance, I drag along with me, serpents that bite my shoes. And it's since that time that, like the prophets, I love so tenderly the desert and the sea; That I laugh at funerals and weep at festivals And find a pleasant taste in the most bitter wine; That very often I take facts for lies And that, my eyes raised heavenward, I fall in holes. But the Voice consoles me and it says: "Keep your dreams; Wise men do not have such beautiful ones as fools!" Translated by - William Aggeler The Voice I grew up in the shadow of a big bookcase: a tall Babel, where verses, novels, histories, row upon row - The immemorial ashes of Greek and Latin - all Mingled and murmured. When I was as high as a folio, I heard two voices speaking. The first one said: "Be wise; The world is but a large, delicious cake, my friend! It calls for an appetite of corresponding size And whoso heeds my counsel, his joys shall have no end." The other voice spoke softly: "Come, travel with me in dreams, Far, far beyond the range of the possible and the known!" And in that voice was the senseless music of winds and streams Blown suddenly out of nowhere and into nowhere blown - A phantom cry, a sound to frighten and captivate. And I replied: "I will, O lovely voice!" And from That hour was sealed for ever the disastrous fate Which still attends me! Always, behind the tedium Of finite semblances, beyond the accustomed zone Of time and space, I see distinctly another world - And I must wear with loathing these mortal toils, as one Dragging a weight of serpents about his ankles curled. And from that hour, like the old prophets of Palestine, I love extravagantly the wilderness and the sea; I find an ineffable joy in the taste of harsh, sour wine; I smile at the saddest moments; I weep amid gaiety; I take facts for illusions and often as not, with my eyes Fixed confidently upon the heavens, I fall into holes. But the Voice comforts me: "Guard, fool, thy dreams! The wise Have none so beautiful as thou hast." And the Voice consoles. Translated by - George Dillon The Voice My cot was next the library, a Babel Where fiction jostled science, myth and fable. Greek dust with Roman ash there met the sight. And I was but a folio in height When two Voices addressed me. "Earth's a cake," Said one, "and full of sweetness. I can make Your appetite to its proportions equal Forever and forever without sequel." Another said "Come, rove in dreams, with me, Past knowledge, thought or possibility." That voice sang like the wind along the shore And, though caressing, frightened me the more. I answered "O sweet Voice!" and from that date Could never name my sorrow or my fate. Behind the giant scenery of this life I see strange worlds: with my own self at strife, Ecstatic victim of my second sight, I trail huge snakes, that at my ankles bite. And like an ancient prophet, from that time, I've loved the desert, found the sea sublime; I've wept at festivals and laughed at wakes: And found in sourest wines a sweet that slakes; Falsehoods for facts I love to swallow whole, And often fall, star-gazing, in a hole. But the Voice cheers - "Keep dreaming. It's a rule No sage can dream such beauty as a fool." Translated by - Roy Campbell