 |
| La Recoleta - Buenos Aires - March 2017 |
Para
siempre cerraste alguna puerta
y hay un
espejo que te aguarda en vano;
la encrucijada te parece abierta
y la
vigila, cuadrifronte, Jano.
Límites –
Jorge Luís Borges
There is a door you have closed forever
And some mirror is expecting you in vain;
To you the crossroads seem wide open,
Yet watching you, four-faced, is a Janus.
The above is from a poem by Jorge Luís Borges called Límites. He wrote two versions, a short one and a longer one. Above is part of the long one. In my recent trip to Buenos Aires the word finality was in my mind. I thought of the Borges poem particularly when he writes about a mirror that will not ever reflect his image again. Mortality at age 74 is in my face and an almost constant thought. I try to grapple with the idea of non existence. Thinking that before I was born is sort of a non-existence does not help in understanding death.
Of late I am trying to be kinder and less confrontational. I am wearing my wrist watch on my right wrist to remind me to be kind to my Rosemary. When I feel like saying something nasty I am increasingly becoming proud of myself for staying quiet. Borges, gentle Borges, helps.
Límites narrado por Jorge Luís Borges
The above is from a poem by Jorge Luís Borges called Límites. He wrote two versions, a short one and a longer one. Above is part of the long one. In my recent trip to Buenos Aires the word finality was in my mind. I thought of the Borges poem particularly when he writes about a mirror that will not ever reflect his image again. Mortality at age 74 is in my face and an almost constant thought. I try to grapple with the idea of non existence. Thinking that before I was born is sort of a non-existence does not help in understanding death.
Of late I am trying to be kinder and less confrontational. I am wearing my wrist watch on my right wrist to remind me to be kind to my Rosemary. When I feel like saying something nasty I am increasingly becoming proud of myself for staying quiet. Borges, gentle Borges, helps.
Límites narrado por Jorge Luís Borges