Friday, February 4, 2011

Invulnerable Dust

Robert Browning

from Browning Decides to Be a Poet
by Jorge Luis Borges

In today's dialect
I shall say, in my fashion, eternal things:
I shall try to be worthy
of the great echo of Byron.
This dust that I am will be invulnerable.
If a woman shares my love
my verse will touch the tenth sphere of the concentric heavens;
if a woman turns my love aside
I will make of my sadness a music,
a full river to resound through time.
I shall live by forgetting myself.


Jorge Luis Borges

Read the rest here

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Visit the Poetry Friday round-up at Dori's this week!

7 comments:

Doraine said...

Lovely poem. I like "a full river to resound through time." I love Browning's work, and Borges gives great insight into the man, himself, and all of us who long to "say eternal things." Thanks for posting.

jama said...

Lots of food for thought in that poem. Thanks for featuring it -- it was something I never would have come across otherwise :).

Anonymous said...

This has always been one of my favorite Browning poems. Thanks for sharing it.

Tabatha said...

Glad you enjoyed it! I like that Borges' Browning makes a reference to Byron... even heroes have heroes.

M Pax said...

Poetry is wonderful. Thanks for sharing such great selections. Just scrolled down and saw the clockfaces you posted. Stunning!

I am rejoining the world today.

Tara said...

"I will make of my sadness a music,
a full river to resound through time."

Lines I tuck away for another time - now that is poetry!

Mary Lee said...

This is a very hopeful poem -- no matter what life throws you, you can make something beautiful of it.