As only the work of one poet in a thousand survives his lifetime
(except unread in libraries) I quote Machado's parable 'Advice':
Be content to wait, watch for the turning tide
as a beached boat waits, in no rush to float away.
Whoever waits can be sure he'll win in the end
since life is long and art only a toy.
And if life is short
and the sea never reaches your skiff,
still wait and don't depart, go right on hoping,
for art is long, and besides it doesn't matter.
(tr. Alan S.Trueblood) I hope that doesnt break any copyright rules.
Douglas Clark, Bath, England mailto: [log in to unmask]
Lynx: Poetry from Bath .......... http://www.bath.ac.uk/~exxdgdc/lynx.html
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