the more the fragments of the
gaze
scatter
the more we mingle
with the body that shapes the
curve of the sky

plus les fragments du
regard
se disséminent
plus on se mêle
au corps qui fait la
courbe du ciel

from Et la terre coule (And the Earth Flows), Arfuyen, 2006

~

I do not run after life it is she
who crosses my path and crosses again
with each look at each meeting
I hold life in both my hands
I proclaim life with both my eyes
and life falls asleep in my arms
I lose touch with the world
I no longer know the difference
between memory and
forgetfulness

je ne cours pas après la vie c’est elle
qui me croise et me recroise
à chaque regarde chaque rencontre
j’en ai dans toutes mes mains
je la crie de tous mes yeux
et elle s’endort dans mes bras
j’en perds le compte du monde
je ne fais plus de difference
entre la mémoire et
l’oubli

from De monde en monde (From World to World), Arfuyen, 2009

~

and we roll around the world
like pebbles in the sea
like a dream
to forget
that every moment is blood
that others others
draw from us

et nous roulons dans le monde
comme des galets dans le mer
comme un rêve
d’oublier
que chaque instant est du sang
que d’autres d’autres
coulent de nous

from De monde en monde (From World to World), Arfuyen, 2009

~

and the present
the present of all presents
a shout
that cripples time
we hear it
from world to world

et le présent
le présent de tous les présents
un cri
qui immobilise le temps
on l’entend
de monde en monde

from De monde en monde (From World to World), Arfuyen, 2009

Henri Meschonnic (1932–2009) is a key figure of French “new poetics,” best known worldwide for his translations from the Old Testament and the 710-page Critique du rythme. During his long career, Meschonnic generated controversy in the literary community. As a poet and as a translator of the Hebrew verse of the Bible, Meschonnic contends that rhythm rules over meaning.

Don relishes moving his entire body and mind through the world and has been running (slowly and then more slowly) for over 40 years. He is also beginning to appreciate the benefits of deep breathing and being in the moment.

Don Boes is the author of Good Luck With That, Railroad Crossing, and The Eighth Continent, selected by A. R. Ammons for the Samuel French Morse Poetry Prize. His poems have appeared in The Louisville Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, Prairie Schooner, CutBank, Zone 3, Southern Indiana Review, and The Cincinnati Review.

Since her college days, Gabriella has been practicing yoga and singing and chanting in church. To achieve harmony with her choir mates and to enter a spiritual calm, she must constantly train her attention to listen to others and to herself.

Gabriella Bedetti studied translation at the University of Iowa and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Her translations of Meschonnic’s essays have appeared in New Literary History, Critical Inquiry, and Diacritics.

More on Gabriella Bedetti’s work can be found on our Links page.