Thursday 25 August 2016

One more by Ekelöf - 'Den dubbla bokföringen'

double-entry bookkeeping

Strange eyes you have given me, god
whose name I do not know
to behold you who do not exist!
For you, human being, it is such
that That Which Does Not Exist you lack
and what you lack must needs exist
And this is not semantic sophistry
but the balance of Nullification!

Oh Nothing, rich in adornments
Oh Nothing, the fount of wisdom
full of sacrificed looks, Nothing’s adornments
Nothing’s burning lights
under Nothing’s vault, borne
by mighty columns, like organ notes in a
registration where the vibrations cancel each other out
Daylight’s stained glass windows
with colours that cancel each other out,
prayers of words that cancel each other out
acts the cause of which nullifes the effect
and tooth for a tooth cancel each other out
Balance! Oh cathedral
that eradicate yourself:
Vision and countervision!
The domain of nullification not arrogance.


To hear this one, go to here 

No comments: