“Language
is what makes us human. It is a recourse against the meaningless noise and
silence of nature and history.” – Octavio Paz
Octavio
Paz Lozano held the rare distinction of being both a diplomat
and a writer – primarily focusing on poetry. His work won three major awards, beginning with Mexico’s Miguel de Cervantes Prize, then the Neustadt International
Prize for Literature, and finally Nobel Prize in 1990.
At
the
age of 23, while studying law and politics, Paz first tried his hand at
writing, working on the first of his long, ambitious poems, "Between the
Stone and the Flower." Influenced by the work of T.S. Eliot, it explores
the situation of the Mexican peasant under the domineering landlords of
the
day.
"The
poetry of Octavio Paz," wrote the critic Ramon Xirau "does not
hesitate between language and silence; it leads into the realm of silence where
true language lives." For Saturday's Poem, here is Paz's,
The Bridge
Between now and now,
between I am and you are,
the word bridge.
Entering it
you enter yourself:
the world connects
and closes like a ring.
From one bank to another,
there is always
a body stretched:
a rainbow.
I'll sleep beneath its arches.
And a link to, “As One Listens To
The Rain.”
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