Testimony to the Night [In English and Spanish]

In the quiet of the arctic night-
In its deep northern skies,
Dim are the lights, in its cold

Evening frost?!
Even the stars of the arctic
Seem silently stone frozen!

Here, here is where you find
Peace and the beast within-!
Remote, no ears or words

To clutter the mind
To entrench the throat;
Here, here is where you die?

(for a moment).

Here, the sky has eternal eyes
Eyes with cosmic tides
Tides that never rest: they war

With the Universe-
Likened to a dark deep abyss;
Endless and never resting?

Here my eyes seek and search
In countless hours, ebbing and
Sweeping the heavens above

Numbing, changeless-
Are the cosmos, the heavens?
Here resides a strange peace?

Here, resides a strange peace
With an army of stars to defeat
Shinning, silently in the dark

The ebbing, eldritch dark;
Time has no relevance here,
Here, resides a strange, peace?

Cold and oddly numb are my feet,
As I look up, upon the many bridges
One star bridging the next-as if,

If Kings and Queens were
Guarding them-the Hosts-
O-Yes! A strange, strange peace?

Ah! Praise, praise be to thee, to thee
Flaming, blazing firmaments-ye,
Ye, remind me not, of the wars I left,

Of the foes, divine immortals?

The enemies that never rest
Ah! Praise, praise be to thee, to thee

I hear music, harmony from afar (there)
There are storms hidden in a storehouse,
For tomorrow-war beyond, beyond

Orion's dust?perpetual dust;
There, there the sun is dim to bleak.
Here, here our sacred books are on fire?

Aw! Ye, our sacred books are all on fire;
With the hostile holy firmaments?!
Nobodies listening-to the tidings

Tiding from heaven-.
The night is my peace, my saga
But even the firmaments reject this?

I see the flames; crimson flames;
Whence I cry: when will this night die?
The sun will rise, it always has-

And the mindless will play some more?
We've put it all into human hands, now
My peace, stillness, our hours?

Off in the darkness, somewhere?!
I see no sign of tears, no tears;
A blood-red moon stirs the floor of the

Sea; with fainting breath, silently-;
Thus, void of death, they both protest.

I do not want to see the annuals-,
The annuals of warfare anymore,
The devils seed, wherein, He stirs

?stirs the cosmos: with His spectral.
I just want quiet, stillness-peace;
Strange as it may seem, it is all I seek?

Eh! yes! Oh yes, the midnight sky has eyes
Has a barbaric eye, deep barbaric eyes.
My night will soon divide, expire:

Hence, soon to recur the inviolate
The inviolate flames of humankind-;
This is my testimony to the night!...

Notes by the author: "?this is a deep, and restless poem with many images; the secret of the poem (to me) is the sun, as it has always rose, so it shall again, tomorrow, and again another tomorrow, and so shall peace not exist, as long as it is in the hands of mankind." The author has spent time in the Arctic, l996. 7/7/05 #752

This is part one of three parts; part two, to this poem is called: "House of the Goblin"?

∆

Spanish Version

Testimonio a la Noche
Translated by Nancy Peñaloza
Edited by Rosa Peñaloza

En la quietud de la noche Ártica-
En sus cielos profundos del norte,
¡Débiles son las luces, en sus frías
Noches heladas!....
Aún las estrellas del Ártico
¡Parecen silenciosamente congeladas!.....

¡Aquí, aquí es donde Ud. encuentra
La Paz y la bestia dentro!-
Distante ni oídos o palabras
Para confundir la mente
Para atrincherar la garganta;
Aquí, aquí es donde Ud. muere---

Aquí, el cielo tiene ojos eternos
Ojos con mareas cósmicas
Mareas que nunca descansan: ellos guerrean
Con el universo-
Comparado a un profundo abismo oscuro;
Infinito y jamás dormido-

Aquí mis ojos investigan y buscan
En horas incontables, bajando y
Barriendo bajo los cielos
Insensible, invariable-
¿Son los cosmos, el paraíso?
Aquí reside, una extraña paz?

Aquí, reside una paz extraña
Con un ejército de estrellas para derrotar
Brillando, silenciosamente en la oscuridad
El descenso, macabro oscuro;
El tiempo no tiene importancia aquí,
Aquí, reside, una extraña paz-

Frío y entumecido de una manera extraña están mis pies,
Mientras miro alto, sobre muchos puentes
Una estrella acorta el siguiente, como si,
Si reyes y reinas estuvieran
Guardándolos-los anfitriones-
¡OH, si! Una extraña paz?

¡AH! Alabanza, alabanza sea para ti, a ti
Firmamentos que queman y arden- ¿verdad?
Recordándome las guerras que deje, por favor
Los adversarios e inmortales divinos
Los enemigos que no quieren la paz
¡Ah! Alabanza, alabanza sea para ti, a ti

Oigo la música armoniosa, desde lejos (allí)
Hay bombardeo oculto en un almacén,
Para la guerra del mañana- más lejana, incontrolable
El polvo de Orión. Polvo perpetuo;
Allí, allí el sol es silenciosamente negro.
Allí, allí, el sol nacerà mañana?

¡Aw! Nuestros libros sagrados están todos sobre el fuego;
¡Hostil santo firmamento!...
Nadie escuchando. A las noticias
Noticias desde el cielo-
La noche es mi paz, mi epopeya
Pero aun los cielos desechan esto?

Veo, las llamas sobre los caminos de batalla
En donde yo grito: ¿Cuándo se acabará esta noche?
El sol saldrá, siempre lo hace-
¿Y la estupidez jugara algo más?
Hemos puesto todo esto dentro de manos humanas
Mi paz, calma, nuestras horas?

Fuera de la oscuridad, ¡en algún lugar!?
Puedo ver las estrellas, pero no las lagrimas.
Una luna roja sangrienta, moviéndose en el mar
Con aliento desmayado, silenciosamente
Desprovisto de muerte mientras ella se hunde?

Yo, no quiero ver las anuales
Las anuales tarifas de guerra nunca más,
La semilla del diablo, donde se mueve
Los océanos con su movimiento espectral
Yo solo quiero aislamiento y paz
Extraño como es, esto es todo lo que busco?

Pero, aun el cielo nocturno tiene ojos
Tiene ojos bárbaros, ojos bárbaros,
Mi noche pronto se dividirá, expirara
Mas, pronto se repetirá, las llamas inviolables
Las inviolables llamas de la humanidad-;
¡Esto es mi testimonio para esta noche!....

Notas del autor: "este es un profundo, impaciente profundo poema Con mucha imaginación, el secreto del poema (para mi) es el sol, Como este siempre sale, así este saldrá, otra vez, mañana, y otra vez Otro mañana, y así la paz no existirá, mientras esto este en las manos De la humanidad." El autor, ha permanecido un tiempo en el ártico, 1996. 7/7/05 #752

Dennis Siluk new book of poetry, "Spell of the Andes," see http://www.abe.com or http://www.alibris.com

---

A Different Place...

I wish we had met 20 years ago... A different place, a different time when I actually had a chance for you to be mine...Although we cannot... Read More

Africa - Wheres The Profit?

A poetic comment that just welled up inside my head ? why cant we just do something ? before many more are dead?How pious those politicians are,... Read More

How to Write Bad Poetry

"All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling."--Oscar WildePeople write poetry for a plethora of reasons, but this article has a sharpened arrowhead aimed directly at the fingertips... Read More

Become A Poet In Ten Minutes

Have you ever sat there staring at the paper, ready to write, but unsure where to begin? Want a solution that will overcome even the worst writer's... Read More

The Dead God of Copan (in English and Spanish)

English VersionAnd the Death God said: "Let it rise to its glory in the Rio Valley-for a season; then let it be gone, we shall call it... Read More

Arizona Blue--Gunfighter: The Wolves Nest [Chapter One of Seven: The North]

[Episode Five]Arizona Blue-GunfighterThe Wolves Nest-in the North[Episode Five]Northern Minnesota Area?Winter of 1877Chapter One of Seven: The NorthThe area was known as Pigs Eye [St. Paul, Minnesota]; Northfield... Read More

Lima, City with the Stretched out Wings [In English and Spanish]

Lima, City with the Stretched out WingsIt's an ink-black night: no stars: a moon in sightJust dots of: red, green and white-white lightsAs the plane descends,... Read More

Colorful Talk

"I heard what you said, Red. Yet, I have to disagree. There's nothing wrong with my voice, You're just filled with jealousy.""You just don't understand, Tan. Let... Read More

The Lull of Twilight [Over Mantaro Valley] In English and Spanish

Twilight, was now beginning. As forthe sun, it was down-down over the Mantaro Valley of Peru. The softness of the Valley's mist, covered everything; from the Andes... Read More

Blind Designs [a Poem] and a Note by Rosa on The Other Door

Blind DesignsBorn today, gone tomorrow Like a butterfly with no stomach Born n the morning, dead by night Oh-let me whisper Oh-let me cry What man has... Read More

Ambiguity and Abstraction in Bob Dylan?s Lyrics

To many people contemporary poetry is a turn-off. The reason for this is that the majority of these poems are boring. They are so because they fail... Read More

Cruel World

Azra, Azra, Wake up Azra. Wake up Azra, It is time to go. Go where you must But hate to do so. Azra, it hurts me... Read More

Tsunami -a Poem Dedicated To Help Aid and Awareness and Encourage Future Harmony. Make Peace Not War

Real Power.One Tsunami, and all our armies, Seem belittled by their wars, What Animals fled, and tribesmen read, Finally Arrives with crushing roar, Wholesale slaughter, purely by... Read More

Anne Bradstreet, To My Dear and Loving Husband, A Discussion

"To My Dear and Loving Husband" was written by America's first female poet, the Puritan, Anne Bradstreet. In fact, Anne Bradstreet is one of only a handful... Read More

Ode, to the Mighty Midget Omac [In English and Spanish]

Part One Midget HistoryI am thirty-six inches tall, that is all-Honest to god I am My hair is green, my eyes red, and IHave a very thick... Read More

Joined

JOINEDHeart beat of man pounding - yet unheard joined becomes the beat of a nation.Words of man written - yet unread joined becomes a proclamation.Sounds of... Read More

Ballade of an Inca King

Ah! Leave the gold, wealth and landSays the Inca King?; In Spain, they leave the bustling streets, For sail to Peruvian shores;The murmur of the gold is... Read More

Infected Ideologies [a Poetic Portrait]

the disease of extremism is infectious-; whoever cannot think of their child growing up without it is part of the phenomenon! (the choice of the day). fanaticism,--... Read More

The Butcher of Lima and Footprints to Mantaro Valley (Two Poems)

Footprints to Mantaro Valley (Peru; in English and Spanish)In what retreat art hid?-Where falling mountains groan In shadow and amongThe rapids of the Rio? Is not your... Read More

The Last King of Mars [A Poetic Mytho]

[As Told by the Last] King: it was in the year 23,700 BC that one of the two moons of earth was hit by a meteor that... Read More

Find the Magic

FIND the MAGICFind the Magic As you release old bondage Come out of hiding And see the starsFind the Magic As you expose the pain Let the... Read More

The Merchant of Copan [In English and Spanish]

English VersionThe Merchant of Copan [480 AD]Advance: The ballgame at the Honduras courtyard in Copan, the year was 480 AD, Copan's 3rd ruler, Mat Head, whom succeeded... Read More

Satirical Poetry About Tony Blair

All Hail.Is your hospital full of aliens, despite new cleaning firms, Antenna waving buggies, And creepy crawly germs, Then dont waste another second, now were into election... Read More

Ceasar Vallejo: Black Roses [In English and Spanish]

Cesar Vallejo: Black RosesBow down your head ol' poet- To face God's grace ahead There are no more trenchesTo dig today? In the forest of your head,So-:... Read More

The Treasure of Catalina Huanca (In English and Spanish)

Note: written after seeing the little adobe 16th century church San Sebastian, in San Jeronimo, by the mountains of Huancayo, Peru, after being taken there by the... Read More

Three Poems and Paradise Lost [One for Hell, One for Heaven one for an Inca King]

The Torrents of HellHell's furnace- Likened to a chimney Vomits her torrents Of flames- Into the air Through earths crust And the earth's trembles-!Agitated, she projects A... Read More