I do wish the snow would just make up its mind to stay for the night. All this bluster and mess with no result is just a tease.
Those reading this west of the Clyde: be careful. The road crews (gritters, clearers) are on strike right now. Didn’t they time that well?
I’m hoping Sister Sarah will offer some tips on the nuances of the language in the previous post. But until then, I offer this as a sort of gloss on the phrase ‘regagné a lui-même’.
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles, andmilly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles; andmay came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the seae. e. cummings
95 Poems
I’ve returned to Benedict this week: always the best guide when trying to balance life.
Ester de Waal mentions a prayer at Benedict’s shrine at Fleury, which begins:
today we see the person ‘qui est sorti de sa maison et qui a perdu la clé pour y entrer. Benoît, ton message est une invitation a l’interiorité. Ton expérience est celle de l’homme regagné a lui-même. Benoît, apprend-nous le retour au coeur.’
de Waal laments the fact that the French is richer, then offers us a translation no better than this:
Today, we are far from home and have lost the key to the door. But you call us to go in and find ourselves again. It is an invitation to interiority. Your experience is that of a person who regains their sense of themselves. Benedict, teach us the return to the heart.Ester de Waal
A Life-Giving Way
Now, is the French really as much lovelier as it seems, or is my poor French allowing me to read into it what I wish?
It is hard to name the difference (différance?) yet one is enticing, and the other feels awkward and dull.
How do we dare read scripture in translation?
So much easier to tidy up a blog than to tend to the rest of life. (Though this is my time off after a full day yesterday.)
I just couldn’t bear the blue. Will anyone be really annoyed at having to scroll to the bottom for links? (i.e. — does anyone rely on the links??)
oh dear. I suspect I’m going to be annoyed by the lack of widgets. Let’s see…
wonderful exchange 