I don't have my book with me, so this is a copy found online. I hope the translation is good...
Antipsalm
Disfigure me, Lord. Take pity on me.
Cover me with bumps. Reward me with boils.
In the fount of tears open a spring of pus mixed with blood.
Twist my mouth upside down. Give me a hump. Make me crooked.
Let moles burrow through my flesh. Let blood
circle my body. Let it be thus.
May all that breathes steal breath from me,
all that drinks quench its thirst in my cup.
Turn all vermin upon me.
Let my enemies gather around me
and rejoice, honoring You.
Disfigure me, Lord. Take pity on me.
Tie every guilt around my ankles.
Make me deaf with noise and delirium. Uphold me
above every tragedy.
Overpower me with dread and insomnia. Tear me up.
Open the seven seals, let out the seven beasts.
Let each one graze my monstrous brain.
Set upon me every evil, every suffering,
every misery. Every time you threaten,
point your finger at me. Thus, thus, my Lord.
Let my enemies gather around me
and rejoice, honoring You.
Translated by Charles Simic
- High emphasis on the self. In this list of selfless actions, almost every sentence has some version of “me” within it. Obviously this has a practical function, but it seems severe for it to be an accident.
-Sudden repetition in the second stanza-- “every,” “Thus,” “seven.” (There is also a double mention of “blood” in the first stanza and multiple “all” in the first, I just noticed. So, really, it may just be a marker of religious statement.)
-Both stanzas end with “You.”
- “Monstrous brain” really seems to stick out. Seems out of place, in a way. All of the other language is obviously biblical references. This seems very modern, for some reason.
-Both stanzas begin with “Disfigure me, Lord. Take pity on me.” “Take pity” seems contradictory given the list of things the speaker says to do to him--if you’re asking God to do them, why also ask him to pity you?
No comments:
Post a Comment