Two Poems from Source and Thirst

by RENÉ AGOSTINI

translated by JUNE SYLVESTER SARACENO

I

to speak

the language of earth

rumbling, resonating

shaking the setting, the illusion of place

to speak

the language of water of the river

flowing and flowing, swelling in its bed

overflowing, flooding, carrying off everything ... fertilizing 

to speak

the language of wind

(the breeze, the gentle zephyr,

it was yesterday, over again!)

wind that speaks tempests

that rotates and revolves

turns the earth over and raises waters

that rips and sweeps and destroys … purifying

(let your language spiral 

ring between gut, heart and head

plunge into the earth to seek the bottom

and into the heavens to spin between sun and moon

let it whirl into stars 

learn to speak

the language of fire, the words of the light)

parler

langue de Terre

qui gronde, qui résonne

ébranle murs et décors en trompe-l’œil

parler 

langue d’Eau de Rivière

qui coule et coule et gonfle dans son lit

et déborde et inonde, emporte tout… -et fertilise

parler 

langue de Vent…

(la brise, le doux zéphyr,

c’était hier, c’est révolu !)

…Vent qui parle Tempête

et qui tourne et qui tourne

et retourne la Terre et soulève les Eaux 

et arrache et balaye, détruit -et purifie 

(que ta Langue soit spirale 

entre Ventre Cœur et Tête

qu’Elle plonge dans la Terre pour en fouiller le fond

et dans le Ciel pour tournoyer entre Soleil et Lune

qu’Elle se lie aux Etoiles et apprenne à parler

le langage du Feu, les mots de la Lumière)

II

only the wind in the tree of the present shows the celestial roots

in the patient leaves where the star sings its song

Praise the storm and celebrate the tempest!

Infinity falls in love with a pebble

the infinity of the senses – all roads to the heavens

in the still mountain, even under the flowing water 

the sovereign way of the invisible trail opens

at the peak are souls who left behind the gridlines

befriending death to bring life to the life of those buried alive…

(here and there along the cluttered roads, 

congested, dangerous, without exits,

there will appear lights of joy in the camps of the solitary

which illuminate a way, where waterways will slake the thirst

of the broken, of the poor blissfully lost…)

and always the wind in the tree of the present shows the celestial roots

in the patient leaves where the star sings its song

Praise the storm and celebrate the tempest!

and infinity

over all

smiles

benevolently

seul le Vent dans l’Arbre du Présent aux Racines célestes 

au Feuillage patient où s’étoile son Chant 

louange à l’Orage et fête à la Tempête !

l’Infini s’amourache de la petite Pierre 

et l’Infini des sens, tous les chemins du Ciel 

dans la Montagne et jusqu’au fond immobile des Eaux courantes

ouvrent la Voie Royale d’un sentier invisible

à la cime des Âmes qui ont quitté les quadrillages

vont tutoyer la Mort, donner Vie à la Vie de tout l’enterré vif…

(il y aura ici et là tout au long de la route balisée, encombrée, dangereuse, sans partage

il y aura des Feux de Joie aux camps des Solitaires

qui rayonneront loin, où s’abreuveront les pannes

et les bienheureux pauvres égarés…)

et toujours le Vent dans l’Arbre du Présent, aux Racines célestes 

au Feuillage patient où s’étoile le Chant 

louange à l’Orage et fête à la Tempête !

et l’Infini

partout

sourire 

bienveillant

RENÉ AGOSTINI ​is a poet, philosopher, and professor at University of Avignon, where he founded the Literary Translation Department. His research and publications center on Megalithic civilization, Celtic and Druidic traditions, and Irish myth, drama, and poetry. He is a musician and modern-day troubadour. 

JUNE SYLVESTER SARACENO is author of two poetry collections, of Dirt and Tar released in 2014 by Cherry Grove Collections, and Altars of Ordinary Light as well as a chapbook of prose poems, Mean Girl Trips. Her work has appeared widely in journals including American Journal of Nursing, The Pedestal, Silk Road, Smartish Pace, Southwestern American Literature, Tar River Poetry, and Worcester Review. Anthologies where her work has appeared include A Bird as Black as the Sun, Cradle Songs, Tahoe Blues and others. She is a professor and English Program Chair at Sierra Nevada College, Lake Tahoe, and founding editor of the Sierra Nevada Review.

The Adirondack Review

WINTER 2017