Sunday, March 25, 2007

The Boast of Quietness

Here's a poem by Jorge Luis Borges, an Argentinian writer. The "Inheritance of Loss" starts off with this. I couldn't turn to the next page.
---
The Boast of Quietness

Writings of light assault the darkness, more prodigious than meteors.
The tall unknowable city takes over the countryside.
Sure of my life and death, I observe the ambitious and would like to
understand them.
Their day is greedy as a lariat in the air.
Their night is a rest from the rage within steel, quick to attack.
They speak of humanity.
My humanity is in feeling we are all voices of that same poverty.
They speak of homeland.
My homeland is the rhythm of a guitar, a few portraits, an old sword,
the willow grove’s visible prayer as evening falls.
Time is living me.
More silent than my shadow, I pass through the loftily covetous multitude.
They are indispensable, singular, worthy of tomorrow.
My name is someone and anyone.
I walk slowly, like one who comes from so far away he doesn’t expect to arrive

----
Am astounded. Yeah. Time is living me.

As an aside, here's a quote by Albert Einstein, which really really made me laugh

Some men spend a lifetime in an attempt to comprehend the complexities of women. Others pre-occupy themselves with somewhat simpler tasks, such as understanding the theory of relativity.

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3 Comments:

Blogger Priya said...

Time is living me.


How true:))

Nice quotes out ther.

2:49 PM  
Blogger Emotional Knapsack said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

9:01 PM  
Blogger Gayatri said...

My homeland is the rhythm of a guitar, a few portraits, an old sword,

Woh! That's the most profound thing I've heard in a long time.. :)

9:02 PM  

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