Dejando de lado los motivos, atengámonos a la manera correcta de llorar, entendiendo por esto un llanto que no ingrese en el escándalo, ni que insulte a la sonrisa con su paralela y torpe semejanza. El llanto medio u ordinario consiste en una contracción general del rostro y un sonido espasmódico acompañado de lágrimas y mocos, estos últimos al final, pues el llanto se acaba en el momento en que uno se suena enérgicamente. Para llorar, dirija la imaginación hacia usted mismo, y si esto le resulta imposible por haber contraído el hábito de creer en el mundo exterior, piense en un pato cubierto de hormigas o en esos golfos del estrecho de Magallanes en los que no entra nadie, nunca. Llegado el llanto, se tapará con decoro el rostro usando ambas manos con la palma hacia adentro. Los niños llorarán con la manga del saco contra la cara, y de preferencia en un rincón del cuarto. Duración media del llanto, tres minutos.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Thursday, July 05, 2007
AN EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE WHICH HAPPENED TO ME, VLADIMIR MAYAKOVSKY, ONE SUMMER IN THE COUNTRY
(Pushkino, Mount Akula, Rumyantsev Cottage, 20 miles down the Yaroslav Railway)
A hundred suns the sunset fired,
into July summer shunted,
it was so hot,
even heat perspired-
it happened in the country.
The little hamlet known as Pushkino,
Akula's Mount
made hunchbacked.
Below, the village
seemed pushed-in so --
its crooked roof-crusts cracked.
And beyond that village
yawned a hole,
into that hole- and not just maybe -
the sun for certain always rolled,
slowly, surely, daily.
At morn
to flood the world
again
the sun rose up-
and ruddied it.
Day after day
it happened this way,
till I got
fed up with it.
And one day I let out such a shout,
that everything grew pale,
point-blank at the sun I yelled:
"Get out!
Enough of loafing there in hell!"
To the sun I yelled:
"You lazy mummer!
in the clouds cushioning,
while here - knowing neither winter nor summer,
I sit, just posters brushing!"
I yelled to the sun:
"Hey, wait there!
Listen, golden brightbrow,
instead of vainly
setting in the air,
have tea with me
right now!"
What have I done!
For ruin I'm heading!
To me,
of his own goodwill,
the sun himself,
ray-strides outspreading,
is marching over the hill.
Not wanting to show him I'm afraid-
back I retreat, guardedly.
Now his eyes lighten the garden shade.
He's actually in the garden now.
Through windows,
doors,
crannies he spread;
in flooded a sunny mass,
having burst in
he drew his breath,
and spoke in a deep bass.
"I've withheld my fires you see
the first time since creation began.
You've invited me?
So lay out the tea,
and, poet, lay on the jam!"
Tears from my poor eyes were streaming-
the heat really made me scary,
all the same-
I got the samovar steaming:
"Of course,
sit down, comrade luminary!"
What possessed me to shout at him like a fool,
inwardly myself I cursed, -
and sat confused
on the corner of a stool,
frightened it might be worse!
But a radiance strange
streamed from the sun, -
and my tact
no longer taxing,
I sit and chat with the luminated one,
gradually relaxing.
About this,
and about that I chatted,
worn out with ROSTA publicity,
but the sun:
"Alright,
don't get so rattled,
see things with greater simplicity!
You think it's easy
for me
to shine so?
- If so, come and have a test! -
But once you go -
why have a go
go - and shine your damnedest!"
We gossiped like that till darkness appeared,
till the night before, that is.
For how could there be any darkness here?
And now
like chums we chatted.
And soon,
in open friendship bonded,
to slap him on the back I dared.
And likewise the sun
warmly responded:
"Why, comrade, we're a pair!
Come, poet,
let us dawn
and sing
away the drabness of the universe.
As the sun, myself I'll fling,
and you - yourself,
in verse."
And shadows' walls,
and jails of night
fell to its double-barreled shot.
Battering barrage of poetry and light -
shine out, no matter what!
And when the sun gets tired,
and night
wants to rest
its sleepy-headed,
why suddenly -
I shine with all my might -
and once more day is trumpeted.
Shine all the time,
for ever shine.
the last days' depths to plumb,
to shine - !
spite every hell combined!
So runs my slogan -
and the sun's!
A hundred suns the sunset fired,
into July summer shunted,
it was so hot,
even heat perspired-
it happened in the country.
The little hamlet known as Pushkino,
Akula's Mount
made hunchbacked.
Below, the village
seemed pushed-in so --
its crooked roof-crusts cracked.
And beyond that village
yawned a hole,
into that hole- and not just maybe -
the sun for certain always rolled,
slowly, surely, daily.
At morn
to flood the world
again
the sun rose up-
and ruddied it.
Day after day
it happened this way,
till I got
fed up with it.
And one day I let out such a shout,
that everything grew pale,
point-blank at the sun I yelled:
"Get out!
Enough of loafing there in hell!"
To the sun I yelled:
"You lazy mummer!
in the clouds cushioning,
while here - knowing neither winter nor summer,
I sit, just posters brushing!"
I yelled to the sun:
"Hey, wait there!
Listen, golden brightbrow,
instead of vainly
setting in the air,
have tea with me
right now!"
What have I done!
For ruin I'm heading!
To me,
of his own goodwill,
the sun himself,
ray-strides outspreading,
is marching over the hill.
Not wanting to show him I'm afraid-
back I retreat, guardedly.
Now his eyes lighten the garden shade.
He's actually in the garden now.
Through windows,
doors,
crannies he spread;
in flooded a sunny mass,
having burst in
he drew his breath,
and spoke in a deep bass.
"I've withheld my fires you see
the first time since creation began.
You've invited me?
So lay out the tea,
and, poet, lay on the jam!"
Tears from my poor eyes were streaming-
the heat really made me scary,
all the same-
I got the samovar steaming:
"Of course,
sit down, comrade luminary!"
What possessed me to shout at him like a fool,
inwardly myself I cursed, -
and sat confused
on the corner of a stool,
frightened it might be worse!
But a radiance strange
streamed from the sun, -
and my tact
no longer taxing,
I sit and chat with the luminated one,
gradually relaxing.
About this,
and about that I chatted,
worn out with ROSTA publicity,
but the sun:
"Alright,
don't get so rattled,
see things with greater simplicity!
You think it's easy
for me
to shine so?
- If so, come and have a test! -
But once you go -
why have a go
go - and shine your damnedest!"
We gossiped like that till darkness appeared,
till the night before, that is.
For how could there be any darkness here?
And now
like chums we chatted.
And soon,
in open friendship bonded,
to slap him on the back I dared.
And likewise the sun
warmly responded:
"Why, comrade, we're a pair!
Come, poet,
let us dawn
and sing
away the drabness of the universe.
As the sun, myself I'll fling,
and you - yourself,
in verse."
And shadows' walls,
and jails of night
fell to its double-barreled shot.
Battering barrage of poetry and light -
shine out, no matter what!
And when the sun gets tired,
and night
wants to rest
its sleepy-headed,
why suddenly -
I shine with all my might -
and once more day is trumpeted.
Shine all the time,
for ever shine.
the last days' depths to plumb,
to shine - !
spite every hell combined!
So runs my slogan -
and the sun's!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
no one wins
Alrededor de 8 de cada cien niños y niñas dominicanos tienen retardo irreparable, por una falta de atención al tema de la alimentación. El porcentaje de niños menores de once años obesos en el Reino Unido pasó del 9,9 por ciento en 1995 al 13,4 por ciento en 2004.
Around 8 of each 100 dominican kids are irreversibly retarded due to a lack of attention to their nutrition.
The percentage of obese kids under 11 in the United Kingdom went from 9,9 percent in 1995 to 13,4 percent in 2004.
.............metro de santo domingo
foto: A. Despradel (2006)
Una vez más, encima de las heridas que a penas tratan por sí mismas de curar, otra incisión (quizás la más profunda) deja a la ciudad en carne viva
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
flying
copacabana beach.feb.2007I am flying, today, tomorrow
yesterday, i was
the ground is not mine
no time
its gone
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
yo y mis en santo domingo
Soy yo y mi hija y mi hijo y mi mujer y mi trabajadora y mi balcón de mi apartamento en mi torre llena de mis vecinos (y sus carros) y mis carros en mi solar, en mi torre, tras mi verja, sobre mi vista al mar
Monday, October 30, 2006
nice things..... cosas bien
umbrellas.sombrillas
light bulbs.bombillos
typewritters.máquinas de escribir
pencils.lápices (a lot) (mucho)
cristals or jewelery stones.cristales o piedras para joyas (not real ones, just anything that looks like them) (no tienen que ser reales, solo que parezcan)
watches.relojes
bikinis
flags.banderas
beards.barbas
coffee makers.cafeteras
hardware stores.ferreterías (maybe because there you can find most of the other things I like) (Quizas porque venden la mayoría de las otras cosas que me gustan)
cotton.algodón
notebooks.cuadernos
boxes.cajas
scarfs.bufandas
bikes.bicicletas
small chicken.pollitos
handbags.bultos/mochilas/bolsos
(to be continued) (continuará)
light bulbs.bombillos
typewritters.máquinas de escribir
pencils.lápices (a lot) (mucho)
cristals or jewelery stones.cristales o piedras para joyas (not real ones, just anything that looks like them) (no tienen que ser reales, solo que parezcan)
watches.relojes
bikinis
flags.banderas
beards.barbas
coffee makers.cafeteras
hardware stores.ferreterías (maybe because there you can find most of the other things I like) (Quizas porque venden la mayoría de las otras cosas que me gustan)
cotton.algodón
notebooks.cuadernos
boxes.cajas
scarfs.bufandas
bikes.bicicletas
small chicken.pollitos
handbags.bultos/mochilas/bolsos
(to be continued) (continuará)
Saturday, October 28, 2006
boo
I was in Amsterdam some days back. Sunny day-rainy end. City and memory collide. Calm and rediscovery of the same place everytime.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
fuerzas//forces
algunas vienen de dentro
y se oponen unas a otras
otras vienen de fuera como brisas de un huracán
aveces de un golpe
aveces en minúsculas dosis que poco a poco cambian las cosas
tantas en tantas direcciones
parecen solo crear
silencio
some come from within
and oppose each other
others come from outside like the winds of a hurricane
sometimes in one go
sometimes in minimal doses that little by little change things
so many in so many directions
seem to only create
silence
y se oponen unas a otras
otras vienen de fuera como brisas de un huracán
aveces de un golpe
aveces en minúsculas dosis que poco a poco cambian las cosas
tantas en tantas direcciones
parecen solo crear
silencio
some come from within
and oppose each other
others come from outside like the winds of a hurricane
sometimes in one go
sometimes in minimal doses that little by little change things
so many in so many directions
seem to only create
silence
Saturday, September 23, 2006
beginnings
- You have to fill your life with beginnings: of books, of relationships, of school terms, of jobs, of anything
-Why?
-Because that is the only way to fool boredom and depression
What about endings? (They both asked at the same time)
-Why?
-Because that is the only way to fool boredom and depression
What about endings? (They both asked at the same time)
Friday, September 01, 2006
puntos cardinales // cardinal points
no hay punto cardinal para el centro
venir de ahi es venir de ninguna parte
de nada sirve un paraiso
en el mundo de las grandes ciudades
las playas son muy suaves
el calor no aprieta como el frio
las brisas de todas partes
vienen de los puntos cardinales
a los que no se pertenece
pasan refrescan y se van
nadie toma en serio una isla
mucho menos un fragmento
a nadie le interesa un paraiso
en el mundo sin eternidades
no sirve de nada
no vale de nada
venir del centro
//
There is no cardinal point for the center
coming from there is coming from nowhere
there is no use for a paradise
in the World of the big cities
beaches are too soft
and heat isn’t tight like the cold
breezes from everywhere
come from the cardinal points
to which there is no relation
they pass by and leave
nobody takes an island seriously
even less a fragment
no one is interested in a paradise
in the World without eternities
it is useless
it’s worth nothing
coming from the center
venir de ahi es venir de ninguna parte
de nada sirve un paraiso
en el mundo de las grandes ciudades
las playas son muy suaves
el calor no aprieta como el frio
las brisas de todas partes
vienen de los puntos cardinales
a los que no se pertenece
pasan refrescan y se van
nadie toma en serio una isla
mucho menos un fragmento
a nadie le interesa un paraiso
en el mundo sin eternidades
no sirve de nada
no vale de nada
venir del centro
//
There is no cardinal point for the center
coming from there is coming from nowhere
there is no use for a paradise
in the World of the big cities
beaches are too soft
and heat isn’t tight like the cold
breezes from everywhere
come from the cardinal points
to which there is no relation
they pass by and leave
nobody takes an island seriously
even less a fragment
no one is interested in a paradise
in the World without eternities
it is useless
it’s worth nothing
coming from the center
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Oido en una cancion//Heard in a song
La pasion es indolente
y la soledad es fiel
Pasion is merciless
and loneliness is faithful
(Caifanes)
y la soledad es fiel
Pasion is merciless
and loneliness is faithful
(Caifanes)
Monday, August 14, 2006
Realization #1756 in the 'Victim of circumstances'* section of the 'Life for dummies' book
1756.- Love sometimes plays a dirty game.
*tragedies.... either funny or beautiful, you decide
*tragedies.... either funny or beautiful, you decide
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