It does not matter in what language one writes.
All language is foreign, incomprehensible.
Every word, as soon as pronounced,
flees far away, where nothing or nobody can reach it.
It does not matter how much is known.
Nobody can read.
Nobody knows what a lightning is
and even less when it is reflected
in the polished metal of a knife.
Now, night seems a sea.
On that sea we row,
dispersed, in silence.
© translation: Stefan Beyst
(Carlos Barbarito)
More Poetry from Carlos Barbarito:
Carlos Barbarito Poems based on Topics: Language, Night, Silence- To Marianne Moore (Carlos Barbarito Poem)
- Behind, perhaps, let the sea blow. (Carlos Barbarito Poem)
- Nothing grows except the grass. (Carlos Barbarito Poem)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Silence Poems, Language PoemsBased on Keywords: metal, foreign, lightning, row, nobody, reflected, translation, polished, writes, pronounced, incomprehensible