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Wordless / Sans paroles

For a moment
the world is a blank piece of paper

your street has no sign
your building, no number

even the sidewalk and trees
have lost their names.

And the flowers?
The flowers no longer speak Latin.

For a moment
there are no judgments, no types, no titles

everyone you know
is a stranger

unlabeled
free

free for a moment.
……………………………..

Pour un temps
le monde est une feuille blanche

ta rue n’a pas de panneau
ton bâ timent, pas de numéro

même le trottoir et les arbres
ont perdu leur nom.

Et les fleurs ?
les fleurs ne parlent plus latin.

Pour un temps
il n’y a plus de jugements, de types, de titres

tout homme que tu connais
est un étranger

non étiqueté
libre

libre pour un temps.
……………………………….
2008
Traduction: Françoise Parouty)


2 Responses to “Wordless / Sans paroles”

  1. Maria Lisella-Brevitas Says:
    April 19th, 2008 at 5:36 pm

    Hi there,

    I love the way a level of stress disappears when I re read this and followed its instructions…I love that the flowers no longer speak Latin…Forgive me however, I don’t think you need these two lines:

    For a moment
    there are no judgments, no types, no titles

    Because the images give me that feeling just the same…try it let me know if you like it.

  2. Sanford Says:
    April 19th, 2008 at 8:39 pm

    Hi Maria Lisella,

    Thank you very much for your comment. After I’ve lived with this recent poem for a month or two, I’ll look at it again with your suggestion in mind. You may be right,
    that the meaning is there without these lines.

    Sanford

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