Margarita Al [Russia]

 

You cannot bypass this planetarium
 
Oh God
how vulnerable we are, oh
God
yet how beautifully vulnerable we are
 
distance to the right = distance to the left
distance up = distance down
distance forward = distance back
 
O
OO
OO OO OO
O
OO
OO OO OO
 
this village
cannot be bypassed
this ancient settlement
cannot be flown over with a compass,
sunwheel
nor with a fan of perpendiculars
 
poured out flows the sacred reverence
about the great goodness
spreads the myth of blessing
under the celestial chime of heaven
 
O
OO
OO OO OO
O
OO
OO OO OO
 
to the right and to the left — the sky
above and below — the sky
inside and outside — the sky
inside and outside the sky
 
people kiss time
pressing the earth to the sky
children kiss space
pressing the sky to the earth
 
they walk in circles, they walk
in circles they walk in circles
through the sky
 
the earth and the sun over the people
space and time over life
in the chariot of death, over death
in the chariot of life
 
the chariot cannot exist without a circle
without a circle, no chariot exists
 
to the right and to the left — the sky
above and below — the sky
inside and outside — the sky
 
inside and outside the sky
 
people kiss time
pressing the earth to the sky
You Cannot Bypass This Planetarium
 
children kiss space
pressing the sky to the earth
 
they walk in circles, they walk
in circles they walk in circles
through the sky
 
the earth and the sun over the people
space and time over life
in the chariot of death, over death
in the chariot of life
 
the chariot cannot exist without a circle
without a circle, no chariot exists
 
Once thought was a child
in this baptismal font
the stars were christened
 
Once thought was the sky
in this baptismal font
the word was christened
 
The word once murmured
the gods, uncovering the earth
with a gnarled sound
the human had not yet been born
and yet the lips
were already singing
 
O
OO
OO OO OO
O
OO
OO OO OO
 
You cannot cross this Universe
Complete with principle, traverse with law
 
Once
this word has two accents
three accents
and so on
this island without ooooooooonly limits
 
Thus birds fly among constellations
Thus humans fly through universes
Nothing superfluous
Only love
 
O
OO
OO OO OO
O
OO
OO OO OO
 
 
(from the book “Seek. AprioriUm”)
 
Translator Dr. Ashraf Aboul-Yazid
 
 
 
Author’s Bionote:
 
*Margarita Al is the President of the World Organization of Writers (WOW) and Chair of the Literary Council of the Assembly of the Peoples of the World. She is a neo-avant-garde poet specializing in the genre of “poetic performance,” as well as a philosopher, literary scholar in the fields of metametaphor and Russian cosmism, and an artist. She has made her mark in world literature as the author of ten distinguished poems. Margarita Al has published three books: “Seek”, “Seek. Manifestal”, and “Seek. AprioriUm.” Her works have been translated into English, Arabic, Chinese, Mongolian, and Spanish. She is also the creator of the “World Literature Salon” project.