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