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Poetry Corner: Do you have any favourite poems? If so, share them here!
Thread poster: Paul Dixon
Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
English to French
+ ...
How to Paint a Bird’s Portrait (and something about scissors) Dec 12, 2020

Maybe I have misunderstood Jan’s poem, but I cannot fathom why it has been taken down.

Was it supposed to be read backwards? I am definitely missing something here…

It’s not rock, paper, scissors we’ve been playing, have we.

All I know is that, when I read it, it made me remember a quite inoffensive French poem, which I am now adding here reluctantly and with some apprehension. Please don’t put poems in a cage … cut their wings … or anythin
... See more
Maybe I have misunderstood Jan’s poem, but I cannot fathom why it has been taken down.

Was it supposed to be read backwards? I am definitely missing something here…

It’s not rock, paper, scissors we’ve been playing, have we.

All I know is that, when I read it, it made me remember a quite inoffensive French poem, which I am now adding here reluctantly and with some apprehension. Please don’t put poems in a cage … cut their wings … or anything of the sort. What's the worse they can do? Sing?


How to Paint a Bird’s Portrait

Paint first a cage
with the door open
next paint
something pretty
something simple
something lovely
something of use
to the bird
then put the canvas near a tree
in a garden
in the woods
or in a forest
hide behind the tree
say nothing
don’t move…
Sometimes the bird comes quickly
but it can just as well take many years
before deciding
Don’t be disheartened
wait
wait years if need be
the pace of the bird’s arrival
bearing no relation
to the success of the painting
When the bird comes
if it comes
keep very still
wait for the bird to enter the cage
and once it has
gently shut the door with the brush
then
paint out the bars one by one
taking care not to touch any of the bird’s feathers
Next paint the tree’s portrait
choosing the loveliest of its branches
for the bird
paint likewise the green leaves and fresh breeze
the sun’s scintillation
and the clamor of crickets in the heat of summer
and then wait until the bird decides to sing
If the bird does not sing
that’s a bad sign
A sign the painting is no good
but if it sings that’s a good sign
a sign you can sign
so you gently pluck
one of the bird’s feathers
and write your name in a corner of the painting.

translated from the French by Jacqueline Michaud

Pour faire le portrait d’un oiseau

Peindre d’abord une cage
Avec une porte ouverte
Peindre ensuite
Quelque chose de joli
Quelque chose de simple
Quelque chose de beau
Quelque chose d’utile pour l’oiseau
Placer ensuite la toile contre un arbre
Dans un jardin
Dans un bois
Ou dans une forêt
Se cacher derrière l’arbre
Sans rien dire
Sans bouger
Parfois l’oiseau arrive vite
Mais il peut aussi bien mettre de longues années
Avant de se décider
Ne pas se décourager
Attendre
Attendre s’il le faut pendant des années
La vitesse ou la lenteur de l’arrivée de l’oiseau
N’ayant aucun rapport
Avec la réussite du tableau
Quand l’oiseau arrive
S’il arrive
Observer le plus profond silence
Attendre que l’oiseau entre dans la cage
Et quand il est entré
Fermer doucement la porte avec le pinceau
Puis
Effacer un à un tous les barreaux
En ayant soin de ne toucher aucune des plumes de l’oiseau
Faire ensuite le portrait de l’arbre
En choisissant la plus belle de ses branches
Pour l’oiseau
Peindre aussi le vert feuillage et la fraîcheur du vent
La poussière du soleil
Et le bruit des bêtes de l’herbe dans la chaleur de l’été
Et puis attendre que l’oiseau se décide à chanter
Si l’oiseau ne chante pas
C’est mauvais signe
Signe que le tableau est mauvais
Mais s’il chante c’est bon signe
Signe que vous pouvez signer
Alors vous arrachez tout doucement
Une des plumes de l’oiseau
Et vous écrivez votre nom dans un coin du tableau

Jacques Prévert

[Edited at 2020-12-12 11:14 GMT]
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P.L.F. Persio
expressisverbis
Zibow Retailleau
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 05:53
Spanish to English
+ ...
Jacques Prévert Dec 12, 2020

That's excellent, Jean! The only one I knew by Prévert was Déjeuner du Matin, but I can see now the style is vaguely similar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MalR-e4IgAs

I'm not sure the voice of the man reciting here is the best choice for this poem. The type of voice, I mean, and also because I'd always imagined a woman speaking. Maybe we're not allowed to make th
... See more
That's excellent, Jean! The only one I knew by Prévert was Déjeuner du Matin, but I can see now the style is vaguely similar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MalR-e4IgAs

I'm not sure the voice of the man reciting here is the best choice for this poem. The type of voice, I mean, and also because I'd always imagined a woman speaking. Maybe we're not allowed to make that kind of assumption any more, though.

[Edited at 2020-12-12 13:05 GMT]
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P.L.F. Persio
expressisverbis
Jean Dimitriadis
Zibow Retailleau
 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 04:53
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
To honour friendship: Dec 12, 2020

Amigo Aprendiz

Quero ser o teu amigo.
Nem demais e nem de menos.
Nem tão longe e nem tão perto.
Na medida mais precisa que eu puder.
Mas, amar-te sem medida e ficar na tua vida, da maneira mas discreta que eu souber.
Sem tirar-te a liberdade, sem jamais te sufocar,
sem forçar a tua vontade,
sem falar, quando for hora de calar.
Sem calar, quando for hora de falar.
Nem ausente, nem presente por demais.
Simplesmente, calmam
... See more
Amigo Aprendiz

Quero ser o teu amigo.
Nem demais e nem de menos.
Nem tão longe e nem tão perto.
Na medida mais precisa que eu puder.
Mas, amar-te sem medida e ficar na tua vida, da maneira mas discreta que eu souber.
Sem tirar-te a liberdade, sem jamais te sufocar,
sem forçar a tua vontade,
sem falar, quando for hora de calar.
Sem calar, quando for hora de falar.
Nem ausente, nem presente por demais.
Simplesmente, calmamente, ser-te paz.
É bonito ser amigo, mas confesso: é tão difícil aprender!
E por isso eu te suplico paciência.
Vou encher o teu rosto de lembranças.
Dá-me tempo de acertar nossas distâncias.

Apprentice Friend

I want to be your friend.
Not too much and not too little.
Not so far away and not so close.
As far more accurate than I can.
But love you without measure and stay in your life, the way I know but discreet.
Without taking the freedom, never choke you,
without forcing your will.
let alone when it's time to shut up.
It is not silent, when it's time to talk.
Or absent, or present too.
Simply, quietly, be your peace.
It's nice to be friend, but I confess: it's so hard to learn!
And so I beg you patience.
I will fill your face with memories.
Give me time to hit our distances.

Fernando Pessoa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXNsuidKV6c

[Edited at 2020-12-12 14:15 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-12-12 16:41 GMT]
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Thomas T. Frost
P.L.F. Persio
Jean Dimitriadis
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Yaotl Altan
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 05:53
Spanish to English
+ ...
@Sandra Dec 13, 2020

Lovely, too, that one. A question about Portuguese ... don't you use the upside-down question mark ¿ or exclamation mark ¡ in Portuguese, like in Spanish? I remember back in my 2nd form Spanish class the teacher told us Spanish needed that to signal that a question or an exclamation was imminent. When you're twelve, it sounds absurd that you would need to put that in, and in fact I see that a lot of Spaniards leave it out. In the last few years I've been leaving them out in e-mails to customer... See more
Lovely, too, that one. A question about Portuguese ... don't you use the upside-down question mark ¿ or exclamation mark ¡ in Portuguese, like in Spanish? I remember back in my 2nd form Spanish class the teacher told us Spanish needed that to signal that a question or an exclamation was imminent. When you're twelve, it sounds absurd that you would need to put that in, and in fact I see that a lot of Spaniards leave it out. In the last few years I've been leaving them out in e-mails to customers too, but lately it struck me that there may well be a Spanish Linguistic Avenger on the prowl over here, so I've been putting them in religiously ever since.Collapse


expressisverbis
 
Paul Dixon
Paul Dixon  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 01:53
Portuguese to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
No inverted question marks in PT Dec 13, 2020

No, we don't use inverted exclamation marks or question marks in Portuguese (at least in Brazil).
In Spanish. on the other hand, they invert question marks and exclamation marks, and also interrobangs. (An inverted interrobang is technically known as a gnaborretni, with the 'g' pronounced as in 'gnu')


Mervyn Henderson (X)
Thomas T. Frost
 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 04:53
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No upside-down question mark ¿ or exclamation mark in PT-PT Dec 13, 2020

Mervyn Henderson wrote:

Lovely, too, that one. A question about Portuguese ... don't you use the upside-down question mark ¿ or exclamation mark ¡ in Portuguese, like in Spanish? I remember back in my 2nd form Spanish class the teacher told us Spanish needed that to signal that a question or an exclamation was imminent. When you're twelve, it sounds absurd that you would need to put that in, and in fact I see that a lot of Spaniards leave it out. In the last few years I've been leaving them out in e-mails to customers too, but lately it struck me that there may well be a Spanish Linguistic Avenger on the prowl over here, so I've been putting them in religiously ever since.


Many thanks, Mervyn.
No, in European Portuguese we don't use it.
In fact, it has some logic and Spanish are right, because in Portuguese (at least in Portugal) sometimes when reading a question or an exclamation we don't always realise and make the right intonation.


Thomas T. Frost
Mervyn Henderson (X)
 
Antoine Wicquart
Antoine Wicquart  Identity Verified
Estonia
Local time: 06:53
German to French
+ ...
Woyzeck et moi Dec 14, 2020

I am currently going through my old dusty texts to find some inspiration for the new creative-me trying to keep busy and productive during the quarantine we have to go through at home. Some texts are still worth sharing (other not at all). I wrote this one a long time ago, in 2013, I was not 20 yet. Here you go:

Woyzeck et moi

J’ai le souvenir, Woyzeck, de cette pâle étendue
Porteuse d’espérances jusqu’alors perdues.
Elle s’étirait loin so
... See more
I am currently going through my old dusty texts to find some inspiration for the new creative-me trying to keep busy and productive during the quarantine we have to go through at home. Some texts are still worth sharing (other not at all). I wrote this one a long time ago, in 2013, I was not 20 yet. Here you go:

Woyzeck et moi

J’ai le souvenir, Woyzeck, de cette pâle étendue
Porteuse d’espérances jusqu’alors perdues.
Elle s’étirait loin sous mes yeux, d’un blanc si pur.

J’ai l’amour Woyzeck, de tes susurres,
De tes mots tendres et vrais
Du feu dans ton corps qui lentement me consumait.

Je suis le diable Woyzeck.

Regarde mes yeux, leur azure mensonger,
C’est mon propre dégoût qui les fait secs.
Moi Woyzeck, je ne sais pas pleurer.

Tu as senti dans mes cheveux
La puanteur impardonnable de mes torts.
Et quand, sans les prononcer, je te fis mes aveux
Quand ma vérité se hissa hors de ton angle mort,
Tu as fait ce qu’il fallait Woyzeck,
Tu as poignardé mes yeux secs.

Est-ce la neige, pourpre alors, qui s’y incruste ?
Qu’importe, Woyzeck, de ma vue trouble et vétuste,
Des eaux ruisselantes se sont déversées,
Ce sont mes pleurs que tu as libérés.
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P.L.F. Persio
Mervyn Henderson (X)
expressisverbis
 
P.L.F. Persio
P.L.F. Persio  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 05:53
Member (2010)
English to Italian
+ ...
Well done, Antoine! Dec 14, 2020

Antoine Wicquart wrote:

I am currently going through my old dusty texts to find some inspiration for the new creative-me trying to keep busy and productive during the quarantine we have to go through at home. Some texts are still worth sharing (other not at all). I wrote this one a long time ago, in 2013, I was not 20 yet. Here you go:

Woyzeck et moi



And you were 19 then? So you're just 27 now? You don't even know you're born!

Jokes aside, I think your poem shows a maturity well beyond your years. It feels fresh though, a story old as the world, but told in a very original and – dare I say – beautiful way.

More of that, please!


Mervyn Henderson (X)
Antoine Wicquart
expressisverbis
 
Antoine Wicquart
Antoine Wicquart  Identity Verified
Estonia
Local time: 06:53
German to French
+ ...
I feel stupid... Dec 14, 2020

... because I don't get the joke! I am indeed 27 now.

Thank you for the kind words PLF, I will find and post some other ones the next days. Maybe new compositions, who knows?

I actually won a small online contest with Woyzeck et moi, it is one of the rare ones I still enjoy reading today.


expressisverbis
Mervyn Henderson (X)
P.L.F. Persio
 
Zeineb Nalouti
Zeineb Nalouti
Tunisia
Local time: 05:53
English to French
+ ...
E.E.CUMMINGS - Who Knows If the Moon’s Dec 14, 2020

who knows if the moon’s
a balloon,coming out of a keen city
in the sky—filled with pretty people?
(and if you and i should

get into it,if they
should take me and take you into their baloon,
why then
we’d go up higher with all the pretty people

than houses and steeples and clouds:
go sailing
away and away sailing into a keen
city which nobody’s ever visited,where

always
it’s
... See more
who knows if the moon’s
a balloon,coming out of a keen city
in the sky—filled with pretty people?
(and if you and i should

get into it,if they
should take me and take you into their baloon,
why then
we’d go up higher with all the pretty people

than houses and steeples and clouds:
go sailing
away and away sailing into a keen
city which nobody’s ever visited,where

always
it’s
Spring)and everyone’s
in love and flowers pick themselves


//////////

One of my favourite poems

[Edited at 2020-12-14 18:29 GMT]
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expressisverbis
Antoine Wicquart
Mervyn Henderson (X)
P.L.F. Persio
 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 04:53
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
One of my favourite poets Dec 16, 2020

Love One Another

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone.
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.... See more
Love One Another

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone.
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together.
For the pillars of the temple stand apart.
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

Kahlil Gibran

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqZbHXYd16w
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Thomas T. Frost
Mervyn Henderson (X)
P.L.F. Persio
Yaotl Altan
 
Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
English to French
+ ...
  Dec 17, 2020

I can put a poem or two of mine, but it's only in French (and I have in Greek as well, as a "true" bilingual)…

[Edited at 2020-12-17 00:19 GMT]


expressisverbis
Antoine Wicquart
 
P.L.F. Persio
P.L.F. Persio  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 05:53
Member (2010)
English to Italian
+ ...
Allez-y, Jean! Dec 17, 2020

Jean Dimitriadis wrote:

I can put a poem or two of mine, but it's only in French (and I have in Greek as well, as a "true" bilingual)…

[Edited at 2020-12-17 00:19 GMT]


English is not the only language.


Jean Dimitriadis
Thomas T. Frost
expressisverbis
 
Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
English to French
+ ...
Sans pleuvoir Dec 17, 2020

Il pleut
sans arrêt
sur les toits de la ville
sur les arrêts des bus
sur les trottoirs qui défilent
il pleut
sans pitié
pour les lapins que l’on pose
pour les soirées que l’on noie
et les fêtes que l’on arrose
il pleut
sans scrupules
par la chambre à plein air
par le ciel débridé
par les trous du gruyère
il pleut
sans mesures
dans les caisses des violoncelles
dans le somme
... See more
Il pleut
sans arrêt
sur les toits de la ville
sur les arrêts des bus
sur les trottoirs qui défilent
il pleut
sans pitié
pour les lapins que l’on pose
pour les soirées que l’on noie
et les fêtes que l’on arrose
il pleut
sans scrupules
par la chambre à plein air
par le ciel débridé
par les trous du gruyère
il pleut
sans mesures
dans les caisses des violoncelles
dans le sommeil des nageurs
dans la fuite des tout à l’heure
il pleut
à danser jusqu’aux hanches des pamplemousses
à verser dans le désert des cloches
à tremper du thé dans la brioche
et jamais
jamais l’inverse
il pleut
il pleut sans cesse
sans aucun doute
sans une goutte
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P.L.F. Persio
expressisverbis
Antoine Wicquart
Yaotl Altan
Mervyn Henderson (X)
 
Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
English to French
+ ...
Éternité sans cils Dec 17, 2020

ils sont là. ils sont deux. ils ne se parlent pas. ils se regardent. pas comme des inconnus. pas comme s’ils se connaissaient, non plus. ils se tiennent debout, dans le silence, sans ciller. une durée indéfinissable. alors, l’un ferme les yeux. pour voir. un temps. il les rouvre. qu’est-ce qu’il voit ? devant lui, c’est lui. l’autre. étrange comment tout disparaît sous les paupières. puis, les yeux rouverts, comment tout est là de nouveau. depuis toujours, on dirait : ils sont... See more
ils sont là. ils sont deux. ils ne se parlent pas. ils se regardent. pas comme des inconnus. pas comme s’ils se connaissaient, non plus. ils se tiennent debout, dans le silence, sans ciller. une durée indéfinissable. alors, l’un ferme les yeux. pour voir. un temps. il les rouvre. qu’est-ce qu’il voit ? devant lui, c’est lui. l’autre. étrange comment tout disparaît sous les paupières. puis, les yeux rouverts, comment tout est là de nouveau. depuis toujours, on dirait : ils sont là, immobiles. ils se fixent d’un œil égal. fermer les yeux n’y changera rien. cet œil qui veille. cette vue. cette vie. ombre fuyante, lumière que l’on ne peut fuir. à les voir comme ça, l’un plonger ses yeux dans le miroir, l’autre tendre son regard vers le mur blanc, on dirait une éternité figée dans l’espace d’un instant.Collapse


P.L.F. Persio
expressisverbis
Antoine Wicquart
Mervyn Henderson (X)
 
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