Gabriel Celaya, "Cosmic Speech"

[trans. by Betty Jean Craige, University of Georgia, in The Poetry of Gabriel Celaya, published by Bucknell University Press, 1984]

We all speak with each other: the pine groves with the sea,

the crickets with the galaxies, the mares with the Southeast,

the breeze with what is quiet, the clouds with what flies.

But distracted man speaks with himself alone.

What does gold say to iodine? The dragonfly to the bull?

The numbers to the sky? The music to the night?

For we all take part in a collective secret,

but distracted man speaks with himself alone.

---

The content and opinions expressed on this Web page do not necessarily reflect the views of nor are they endorsed by the University of Georgia or the University System of Georgia.

---