All things pass and all things remain
but our task is to pass through,
to pass through making roads,
roads out over the sea.
translated by Mary G. Berg & Dennis Maloney
Antonio Machado
poem by Antonio Machado
The best of the good people
know that in this life
it’s all a question of proportion;
a little more, a little less . . .
translated by Mary G Berg & Dennis Maloney
Antonio Machado on things no good at sea
Mankind owns four things
that are no good at sea:
rudder, anchor, oars,
and the fear of going down.
translsated by Robert Bly
Is my soul asleep? by Antonio Machado
Is my soul asleep?
Have those beehives that work
in the night stopped? And the water-
wheel of thought, is it
going around now, cups
empty, carrying only shadows?
No, my soul is not asleep.
It is awake, wide awake.
It neither sleeps nor dreams, but watches,
its eyes wide open
far-off things, and listens
at the shores of the great silence.
translated by Robert Bly
another from Proverbs and Folksongs by Antonio Machado
Light of the soul, divine light,
beacon, torch, star, sun. . .
A man gropes his way along
carrying a lamp on his back.
translated by Mary G. Berg & Dennis Maloney
It’s Possible That While We Were Dreaming by Antonio Machado
It’s possible that while we were dreaming
the hand that casts out the stars like seeds
started up the ancient music once more
–like a note from a great harp–
and the frail wave came to our lips
in the form of one or two honest words.
translated by Robert Bly
and again Antonio Machado
You say nothing is created new?
Don’t worry about it, with the mud
of the earth, make a cup
from which your brother can drink.
translated by Robert Bly
Antonio Machado again
Beyond living and dreaming
there is something more important:
waking up.
translated by Robert Bly
another from Antonio Machado
What the poet is searching for
is not the fundamental I
but the deep you.
translated by Robert Bly
from Moral Proverbs & Folk Songs by Antonio Machado
Pay attention now:
a heart that’s all by itself
is not a heart.
translated by Robert Bly
Leonard Durso 