Blocked
Llike virgin snow.
Untouched
by human hands.
I stare
at the stark white sheet.
Where are the words?
Not a clue.
No words in my head.
Words
like bricks
tumbling out of
a muddled mind,
building structures,
tarnishing
the white carpet
beneath.
But, hey!
What's this?
A page full of words
forming a pattern,
coming from within,
gracing the chaste white paper.
I am blocked
no more.
Carol Keys
Viewing version 2 of 2
The Write Out Loud Translation Wiki is Supported by National Association for Literature Development
Comments
What language was this in originally? And where is the 'word for word'? I don't want to make changes that simply rework a fellow English translator's efforts. Or is this the 'purist' original, adhering closely to the arrangement of the first language, keeping the idea as intact as possible?
What am I missing? I cannot access Version 2 to make any changes. I had no problem with the prior poem.
If you wish to post a comment you must login.
Vik
Wed 2nd Oct 2013 18:06
Hi Cynthia - the poem's original language is English.
I've just added a scan of a handwritten translation into Bengali, done by Saleh Uddin Talukdar and Afia Begum during a workshop - but unfortunately not sure if it's legible - I thought we'd be able to click on the image to open it bigger in a new window, but I don't think that happens.
During the workshop there was lots of discussion about the layers of images in Carol's poem; the connotations of the "chaste, virgin, untouched" imagery and the way it's connected with snow and whiteness; and the idea of the bricks, and how to translate the idea of something that is at once structured, and also muddled.