PEOPLE

: ALAIN : QUITE SUDDENLY : JANE :

: MIGUEL : MS Q : KIM AND KALEEM

ALAIN 

The ultimate human struggle
Is now over but
I have him locked safe
Within my memory.
The priceless gems
Of remembered conversations
About social justice;
About the differences
And no differences between us.
Here I drink pastis in the rain,
Eat freshly made crêpes
And admire a thousand stamps.
Share Monet and ships;
Watch fireworks and find space.
I see reflections
Of his soft, winning smile
And hear the mischievous humour.
Of the modest, natural man.
This truly gentle man
May have moved on,
But he is in here,
Safe and untouchable,
For ever.

ALAIN

L’ultime lutte humaine
Est maintenant terminée.
Il est désormais à l’abri dans ma mémoire.
Le souvenir, trésor inestimable,
Des discussions
Sur la justice sociale,
Sur les différences
Et les non différences entre nous.
Ici, je bois des pastis sous la pluie,
Là, je mange des crêpes toute fraîches
Et admire mille timbres.
On partage Monet, et des navires,
Je regarde des feux d'artifice et je vois l’espace.
Je vois les reflets
De son sourire doux et engageant
Et j’entends l'humour espiègle,
De cet homme modeste et naturel.
Cet homme véritablement bon
Est parti,
Mais il demeure en moi,
Insaisissable et à l’abri,
Pour toujours.

Traduction Valérie Lambert

QUITE SUDDENLY

for Mary, one of my very best friends

This surely has been
The longest time.
The interminable wait
For the formalities of death
To be processed
By science and medicine.
Then quite suddenly,
Impatient with the bureaucracy,
You took us by surprise
And made your entrance
Escorted by angels,
Into that indescribable
Light-filled glorious eternity,
To be free and safe at last.

 Mary died from cancer at dawn, Palm Sunday,  March 24th 2002
The poem was started on the evening of  March 23rd and finished the next day.

JANE

for Jane Regan

She sat on the wall
In the warm afternoon sun,
Detaching the white petals
From the small daisies
Lately grown near feet.
Her thoughts were full of love
As her surgery continued -
About how nice he was
Or what she would say
When he comes again today.
When he comes.
If he comes?
She sat for an hour or two
Ankle deep in dissected flowers
Whispering, "He loves me,
"He loves me not...
Or... or maybe he's forgot."

MIGUEL

para Miguel Angel Blanco Garrido

Libertad.
¡Que palabra!
Resonaba en todos los barrios de Ermua,
Allí, arriba el aire húmedo de Vitoria,
Sobre las tejas rojas de Cuenca,
Más alto que los edificios de Madrid,
Que las sierras de Andalucía.
Todo España lo escuchaba.
Tan alto que alcanzaba el cielo;
Tan fuerte como una oración.
Escúchalo, Miguel.
Es por ti.
Para ti.

asesinado por ETA y HERRI BATASUNA el sábado 12 de Junio de 1997

Ms Q

for Val

Par hazard étaient
Les moments entre nous,
Mais soudain la rêve
Se dirige vers la terre
Et mon coeur est frappé
Par la foudre-
La foudre d'amour.
Et comme l'eclair
Il y a un risque d'incendie!
Mais je préfere
L'etoile filante
Qui aussi tombe
Vers la terre
Qui brille pour un moment
Dans la nuit
Mais toujours
Dans mon coeur.

LAMENT FOR KIM AND KALEEN

(from an idea given by David Pennells)

For that single moment
Twenty to five,
Kim loved Kaleem
Close to that lonely house
Among the trees.
One minute later disbelieving, 
She watched Kaleem go
Until the trees enfolded him
And her heart broke.
Her eyes filled with tears
Blurring her graffiti
As she ground a sharp stone
Into the wall recording their moment.
A lament for times past
And a warning for the future.
She listened to the grinding anger
As the stone circled her text.
Then throwing the stone,
She watched its gentle curve
Toward the clouds and sky;
Expecting it to be swallowed.
Instead it fell to the unyielding, cold earth
Propelled by gravity and the fickle, 
Intangible business of love.

Homepage