Rebirth
Passageways of the soul! The soul like a young woman!
Her clear smiling light
and the history not long,
and the joy of a new life . . .
…. Yes, to be born again, and walk the road,
having found the lost path!
…. To feel in our hand once more
the pulse in the good hand
of our mother . . . And to walk through life in dreams
out of love for the hand that guides us.
…. In our souls everything
moves guided by a mysterious hand.
We know nothing of our own souls
that are ununderstandable and say nothing.
…. The deepest words
of the wise man teach us
the same as the whistle of the wind when it blows
or the sound of the water when it flows.
…. It’s possible that while sleeping the hand
that sows the seeds of stars
started the ancient music going again
…. —like a note from a great harp—
and the frail wave came to our lips
as one or two honest words.
by Antonio Machado
Translation by Robert Bly
From Times Alone
Wesleyan University Press, 1983
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