Jeannette L. Clariond
translated from the Spanish by Keith Ekiss
The Voice
Voice is form. Scar or wound,
voice is form’s essence.
A river that flows like a fountain’s cry
in an infinite mirror.
Voice is a circle
of indelible ash
drawn on stone.
We learn how to read by the eyes of the mother,
her need, her desire. Not the other voice
but its absence
draws us down: (at birth the voice of the mother
falls upon us).
The soul of all mothers root darkened shadows
on our tongue.
The shadow is a hole, the hole turns
into wind on the way to the river.
River and wind shape
the translucent lines on the water.
Voice is ink in a country whitened by snow.
Water searching for its echo.
I went out looking for my mother
and on her bed I found a book.
The voice of my mother
was a wound.
My mother is all the words buried in a voice.
That is how I came to read.
Her absence, a grayish stain.
Her voice, an empty vessel sweeping down
the broken image of the sea.
__________
In addition to being an award winning poet and translator, Jeannette L. Clariond has spent many years teaching and writing about the ancient philosophy and religion of Pre-Hispanic cultures, focusing in particular on myth and its function in forming the individual. Her critics and anthologists have said of her that she is mystical, erotic, or a poet of thought. Her work has been translated to English, French, Italian, Romanian and Arabic. She has also published an anthology of contemporary American poetry, together with Harold Bloom, which won the award for best translation of the Latino Book Award.
Keith Ekiss is a Jones Lecturer in Creative Writing at Stanford University and a former Wallace Stegner Fellow. He is the author of Pima Road Notebook (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2010) and translator of The Fire’s Journey (Tavern Books, 2013) by the Costa Rican poet Eunice Odio.”“Keith Ekiss is a Jones Lecturer in Creative Writing at Stanford University and a former Wallace Stegner Fellow. He is the author of Pima Road Notebook (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2010) and translator of The Fire’s Journey (Tavern Books, 2013) by the Costa Rican poet Eunice Odio.
translated from the Spanish by Keith Ekiss
The Voice
Voice is form. Scar or wound,
voice is form’s essence.
A river that flows like a fountain’s cry
in an infinite mirror.
Voice is a circle
of indelible ash
drawn on stone.
We learn how to read by the eyes of the mother,
her need, her desire. Not the other voice
but its absence
draws us down: (at birth the voice of the mother
falls upon us).
The soul of all mothers root darkened shadows
on our tongue.
The shadow is a hole, the hole turns
into wind on the way to the river.
River and wind shape
the translucent lines on the water.
Voice is ink in a country whitened by snow.
Water searching for its echo.
I went out looking for my mother
and on her bed I found a book.
The voice of my mother
was a wound.
My mother is all the words buried in a voice.
That is how I came to read.
Her absence, a grayish stain.
Her voice, an empty vessel sweeping down
the broken image of the sea.
__________
In addition to being an award winning poet and translator, Jeannette L. Clariond has spent many years teaching and writing about the ancient philosophy and religion of Pre-Hispanic cultures, focusing in particular on myth and its function in forming the individual. Her critics and anthologists have said of her that she is mystical, erotic, or a poet of thought. Her work has been translated to English, French, Italian, Romanian and Arabic. She has also published an anthology of contemporary American poetry, together with Harold Bloom, which won the award for best translation of the Latino Book Award.
Keith Ekiss is a Jones Lecturer in Creative Writing at Stanford University and a former Wallace Stegner Fellow. He is the author of Pima Road Notebook (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2010) and translator of The Fire’s Journey (Tavern Books, 2013) by the Costa Rican poet Eunice Odio.”“Keith Ekiss is a Jones Lecturer in Creative Writing at Stanford University and a former Wallace Stegner Fellow. He is the author of Pima Road Notebook (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2010) and translator of The Fire’s Journey (Tavern Books, 2013) by the Costa Rican poet Eunice Odio.