Whoever Comes From The Earth - Nelly Sachs

Whoever

comes from the Earth

reaching for the moon

or

other heavenly mineral flower –

will soar high

wounded by blasts

of memory

shot from the explosive burst of yearning

for

out of Earth’s painted night

his winged prayers arise

out of daily destructions

seeking the inner pathways of the eyes.

Craters and arid seas

filled with tears

travelling through starry stations

escaping from dust and ashes.

Everywhere the Earth

is building its colonies of homesickness.

Not to land

on the oceans of addicted blood

only to sway

in the luminous music of ebb and flood

only to sway

to the rhythm of the unscathed

mark of eternity:

life – death –

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Nelly Sachs (1891 - 1970) Sweden

Translated by Catherine Sommer

Source: Poems of Nelly Sachs in English © Catterel and Catherine Sommer (2013)