Venice masks

Saturday 13 June 2015

“I Am Not I” - Juan Ramón Jimenez

I am not I.
                   I am this one
walking beside me whom I do not see,
whom at times I manage to visit,
and whom at other times I forget;
who remains calm and silent while I talk,
and forgives, gently, when I hate,
who walks where I am not,
who will remain standing when I die.

Juan Ramón Jimenez (1881 - 1958) Spain
Winner of the Nobel Prize in 1956
Translated by Robert Bly
From: The Winged Energy of Delight: Selected Translations, Robert Bly, Harper Perennial, 2005

1 comment:

  1. I found your poetry posts today. It is great idea and this poem by Jimenez is a real keeper. Below is the Spanish.

    Yo no soy yo.
    Soy este
    que va a mi lado sin yo verlo,
    que, a veces, voy a ver,
    y que, a veces olvido.
    El que calla, sereno, cuando hablo,
    el que perdona, dulce, cuando odio,
    el que pasea por donde no estoy,
    el que quedará en pie cuando yo muera.

    ReplyDelete

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