Guillevic > Quotes

“L’éternité
ne fut jamais perdue.
Ce qui nous a manqué
Fut plutôt de savoir
La traduire en journées,
En ciels, en paysages,
En paroles pour d’autres,
En gestes vérifiables.
Mais la garder pour nous
N’était pas difficile
Et les moments étaient présents
Où nous paraissait clair
Que nous étions l’éternité.

Eternity
never was lost.
What we did not know
was how to translate it into days,
skies, landscapes,
into words for others,
authentic gestures.
But holding on to it for ourselves,
that was not difficult,
and there were moments
when it seemed clear to us
we ourselves were eternity.
Translation by Denise Levertov ”
― Eugène Guillevic

“Comme certaines musiques
Le poème fait chanter le silence,
Amène jusqu’à toucher
Un autre silence,
Encore plus silence.

As certain music
The poem makes sing to silence
Bring to the point of touching
Another silence
Even more silence.
”
― Eugène Guillevic, Art poétique

“When I wasn’t thinking about you,
When I watched you without seeking you,
When I was on your shores
Or when I was within you,
No longer remembering your entirety,
I felt fine, Sometimes.”
― Guillevic, Selected Poems