Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Claude Esteban

AND MAYBE ALL WAS WRITTEN

And maybe all was written in the book
but the book got lost

or someone threw it in the brambles
without reading it

no matter, that which was written
abides, even

hidden, another who has not lived
through all that

and without knowing the book’s language, will understand
each word

and when he has read it, something
of ours will yield

a breath, a kind of smile between the stones.

ET PEUT-ETRE QUE…

ET PEUT-ETRE QUE…

Et peut-être que tout était écrit dans le livre
mais le livre s’est perdu

ou quelqu’un l’a jeté dans les ronces
sans le lire

n’importe ce qui fut écrit
demeure, même

obscur, un autre qui n’a pas vécu
tout cela

et sans connaître la langue du livre, comprendra
chaque mot

et quand il aura lu, quelque chose
de nous se lèvera

un souffle, une sorte de sourire entre les pierres.
Close

AND MAYBE ALL WAS WRITTEN

And maybe all was written in the book
but the book got lost

or someone threw it in the brambles
without reading it

no matter, that which was written
abides, even

hidden, another who has not lived
through all that

and without knowing the book’s language, will understand
each word

and when he has read it, something
of ours will yield

a breath, a kind of smile between the stones.

AND MAYBE ALL WAS WRITTEN

And maybe all was written in the book
but the book got lost

or someone threw it in the brambles
without reading it

no matter, that which was written
abides, even

hidden, another who has not lived
through all that

and without knowing the book’s language, will understand
each word

and when he has read it, something
of ours will yield

a breath, a kind of smile between the stones.
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