Los cuatro costados de Ludwig Wittgenstein/ The Four Sides Of Ludwig Wittgenstein

Los cuatro costados de Ludwig Wittgenstein

                            

                             A ése le gustaría volar pero

                             le faltan las plumas.

La interior de esta caja es otra caja.

Al otro lado de esta cara está otra cara.

El revés de esta máscara también es una máscara.

Y el anverso de tí es la otra superficie de tú.

E. A. Costa 31 May, 2015 Granada, Nicaragua

The Four Sides Of Ludwig Wittgenstein

                                The chap wants to fly

                                but has no feathers.

The inside of this box is another box.

On the other side of this face is

another face.

The reverse of this mask

is also a mask.

And the obverse of thee is

the other surface of you.

Tr. E. A. Costa 31 May, 2015 Granada, Nicaragua

The Catechism Of Venus

                     ...rerum naturae sola gubernas...

                                                        Lucretius

Who is Venus?

Born grown and whole out of the mind and wind of Zeus her skin of sea is like a tree endlessly branching into an illusion of final surface.

What  is Venus' mien?

Shimmering joy of sky her eyes, breasts full and lolling, lascivious thighs and hips inviting an infinity of fathoming.

What is the essence of Venus' divinity?

She is the solar furnace who concentrates rays of desire out of vacuum, creating all about to be.

What is Venus' role in the nature of things?

She is the playful ghost limb of a universe that rises and subsides with the tides--the moved through of every mover--she is purest, lewdest, most alluring mother and the antimatter of the cosmos' fiery pasts and futures.

Is Venus a virgin?

No. She is married with children.

Who is Venus' husband?

Vulcan the smith.

How many children do they have?

None. Venus has numerous children, among them Cupid (by Mars) and Fortuna (by Hermes or Zeus). She was also the mother of Aeneas by Anchises.

Does Venus have a cult?

Yes. Venus is courted by all gamblers as the highest winning throw in dice....

E. A. Costa 27 May, 2015 Granada, Nicaragua

Now, Love--Touch This Word...

                   

                  Corpus erat: saliunt temptatae pollice venae.            

                                                                       (Ovid)  

Now, love--

touch this word

upon the page,

or, if you're of

a different age,

touch it in stone

or on the screen.
Make sure your
hands are clean.

Is it softly blurred

and textured?

Is it hard and cold?

Is it glassy?

Now tap it gently

with your nail.

Is it fluttery or thuddish?

Is the tock a muffled pinprick?

Does it click like plastic?

Or if tattooed upon your flesh,

is it silent, warm & ticklish?

E. A. Costa 7 May, 2015 San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

Herder: Ein Traum (con tr. en español y inglés)

Ein Traum, ein Traum ist unser Leben
auf Erden hier.

Wie Schatten auf den Wogen schweben
und schwinden wir.

Und messen unsre trägen Tritte
nach Raum und Zeit.

Und sind - und wissen's nicht - in Mitte
der Ewigkeit.

             Johann Gottfried Herder


Un Sueño

Sueño—un sueño es la vida
en la tierra aquí.

Como sombras sobre las olas
pasamos y desaparecemos

Y medimos nuestras pisadas pesadas
por tiempo y espacio

Y estamos—y no lo conocemos--
en medio de la eternidad. 

(tr. EAC)


A Dream

Dream--dream is living
here on earth.

Like shadows over billows
we pass and disappear--

Mete heavy footfalls
by space and time,

And are—and do not ken it--
amid the infinite.

(tr. EAC)


E. A. Costa 3 May, 2015 San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua