Sunday, July 25, 2021

NO QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED: DO NOT BE ASHAMED


Do not be ashamed by Wendell Berry
You will be walking some night
in the comfortable dark of your yard
and suddenly a great light will shine
round about you, and behind you
will be a wall you never saw before.
It will be clear to you suddenly
that you were about to escape,
and that you are guilty: you misread
the complex instructions, you are not
a member, you lost your card
or never had one. And you will know
that they have been there all along,
their eyes on your letters and books,
their hands in your pockets,
their ears wired to your bed.
Though you have done nothing shameful,
they will want you to be ashamed.
They will want you to kneel and weep
and say you should have been like them.
And once you say you are ashamed,
reading the page they hold out to you,
then such light as you have made
in your history will leave you.
They will no longer need to pursue you.
You will pursue them, begging forgiveness.
They will not forgive you.
There is no power against them.
It is only candor that is aloof from them,
only an inward clarity, unashamed,
that they cannot reach. Be ready.
When their light has picked you out
and their questions are asked, say to them:
"I am not ashamed." A sure horizon
will come around you. The heron will begin
his evening flight from the hilltop.
NO TE AVERGÜENCES
Cualquier noche estarás caminando
en la confortable oscuridad de tu casa
y de repente brillará una gran luz,
alrededor de ti, y detrás de ti
habrá un muro que antes nunca viste
te resultará claro
que estás escapando,
y que eres culpable: malentendiste
las complejas instrucciones, no eres
un miembro, perdiste tu identificación
o nunca la tuviste. Y sabrás
que ellos han estado siempre allí,
sus ojos en tus libros y cartas,
sus manos en tus bolsillos,
sus oídos conectados a tu cama.
Aunque no has hecho nada vergonzoso,
querrán que te avergüences
Querrán que te arrodilles y llores
y digas que deberías haber sido como ellos.
Y una vez que digas que estás avergonzado,
leyendo la página que te indican,
entonces la luz que has conquistado 
en tu vida te abandonará.
Y no necesitarán perseguirte
Tú los perseguirás, pidiendo perdón
No te perdonarán
No hay poder contra ellos
Solo la pureza a distancia de ellos
Solo una claridad interior, sin vergüenza
que ellos no pueden alcanzar. Permanece listo
cuando su luz te haya detectado
y sus cuestiones sean planteadas, diles:
"No estoy avergonzado". Un horizonte seguro
vendrá alrededor tuyo.La garza levantará
su vuelo vespertino desde la colina.
WB (traducción Guillermo Ruiz, 17-07-2021)

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