Weaving the Morning
by João Cabral de Melo Neto
1.
One rooster does not weave a morning,
he will always need the other roosters,
one to pick up his shout
and toss it to another, another rooster
to pick up the shout of the rooster before him
and toss it to another, and other roosters
with many other roosters to criss-cross
the sun-threads of their rooster-shouts
so that the morning, starting from a frail cobweb,
may go on being woven, among all the roosters.
2.
And growing larger, becoming a cloth,
pitching itself a tent where they all may enter,
inter-unfurling itself for them all, in the tent
(the morning) which soars free of ties and ropes –
the morning, tent of a weave so light
that, woven, it lifts itself through itself: balloon light.
~~~~~~~~~
Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry, edited by Stephen Tapscott
Education by Stone: Selected Poems by João Cabral de Melo Neto
Last chance to join the Summer Poem Swap!
Linda at TeacherDance is our Poetry Friday host this week.
14 comments:
I love the idea of roosters weaving a cloth together. What an interesting combination of thoughts. Thanks for sharing it.
"...to criss-cross
the sun-threads of their rooster-shouts..." My goodness, how beautiful is that? I will never look at morning the same again -- thanks for sharing this wonderful poem!
This poem is breathtaking. I'm squirreling it away so I can savor it over a cup of coffee one morning. I just love the imagery so much...
I have a painting in my bedroom called Warp and Weft that was done by an Australian artist. Every time I look at the loosely woven lines of that painting I will now think of this poem.
Startling imagery. Love it! Thanks for sharing.
"with many other roosters to criss-cross
the sun-threads of their rooster-shouts"
This allowed for such a wonderful visual for me....thank for sharing this, Tabatha.
Thank you for this Tabatha. How wonderful are the words of morning greeting. I am always amazed at the different sights poets give us of the world: "which soars free of ties and ropes". Exactly!
Oh...more than lovely. "pitching itself a tent where they all may enter"--I want to do that with the criss-crossing wordthreads that we weave!
And this reminded me of the Twilight Bark. : )
I'd love to join the Summer Poem Swap. Do you want a separate email?
A new way to think about all my neighborhood roosters! Thanks!
Why does it say I am Anonymous? This is Ruth, from thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
How great is this poem?! I love that you likened the imagery to what happens on Poetry Friday, too. These lines especially snagged me:
"so that the morning, starting from a frail cobweb,
may go on being woven, among all the roosters."
:0) Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, all! I will send you an email once I get home, Heidi. We are spending the long weekend away. I'm sorry I haven't been able to do much Poetry Friday visiting.
Lovely. The roosters on my parent's farm use to "shout" at all hours of the day. This brings back memories of my parent's farm.
I remember roosters weaving morning at my grandmother's house. What a lovely image. And that photo you chose is fabulous!
Tabatha, thank you! You share the most interesting poems. Now I will be examining my life for weavings.
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