{"id":2468,"date":"2013-04-23T12:59:35","date_gmt":"2013-04-23T16:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/?p=2468"},"modified":"2013-04-23T12:59:35","modified_gmt":"2013-04-23T16:59:35","slug":"annual-poetry-reading-poetrys-distant-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/2013\/04\/23\/annual-poetry-reading-poetrys-distant-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Poetry Reading: Poetry’s Distant Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Core presents a “set of two poems, which are the same poem” as phrased by Zachary Bos, one of the respected speakers at the Annual Poetry Reading this year on\u00a0April 16th. The theme of the reading was “Poetry’s Distant Voice”, and here is Zachary Bos’ contribution:<\/p>\n

From The Book of Hours<\/em><\/strong> I, 36<\/span><\/p>\n

MacDiarmid, Hugh, 1892-1978 (trans.)
\nRilke, Rainer Maria, 1875-1926 (orig.) :<\/p>\n

What Will God Do?<\/p>\n

What would God do if I should die.
\nI am his jar (if I should break?),
\nHis fountain (if I should run dry?),
\nI am His consciousness, and make
\nAll that he knows His Own Self by.<\/p>\n

I am the sandals he must wear
\nOr with bare feet crave wearily.
\nIf I should die and go not there
\nHis Heaven would his prison be.<\/p>\n

From my barr’n bones his cloak would drop,
\nHis glance that on my cheeks depends,
\nAs a tired head a cushion befriends,
\nWill founder if old Death extends
\nDust for the comfort my life lends
\nNaught but a void where He may grope!<\/p>\n

What will God do if my life ends?<\/p>\n

( The Scottish Nation, 8 May 1923)<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

What Will You Do, God?
\nTranslated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy<\/p>\n

What will you do, God, when I die?<\/p>\n

I am your pitcher (when I shatter?)
\nI am your drink (when I go bitter?)
\nI, your garment; I, your craft.
\nWithout me what reason have you?<\/p>\n

Without me what house
\nwhere intimate words await you?
\nI, velvet sandal that falls from your foot.
\nI, cloak dropping from your shoulder.
\nWhat will you do, God? It troubles me.<\/p>\n

Your gaze, which I welcome now
\nas it warms my cheek,
\nwill search for me hour after hour
\nand lie at sunset, spent,
\non an empty beach
\namong unfamiliar stones.
\nWhat will you do, God? \u00a0I am afraid.<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

Was wirst du tun, Gott, wenn ich sterbe?<\/p>\n

Was wirst du tun, Gott, wenn ich sterbe?
\nIch bin dein Krug (wenn ich zerscherbe?)
\nIch bin dein Trank (wenn ich verderbe?)
\nBin dein Gewand und dein Gewerbe,
\nmit mir verlierst du deinen Sinn.
\nNach mir hast du kein Haus, darin
\ndich Worte, nah und warm, begr\u00fc\u00dfen.
\nEs f\u00e4llt von deinen m\u00fcden F\u00fc\u00dfen
\ndie Samtsandale, die ich bin.
\nDein gro\u00dfer Mantel l\u00e4sst dich los.
\nDein Blick, den ich mit meiner Wange
\nwarm, wie mit einem Pf\u00fchl, empfange,
\nwird kommen, wird mich suchen, lange –
\nund legt beim Sonnenuntergange
\nsich fremden Steinen in den Scho\u00df.
\nWas wirst du tun, Gott? Ich bin bange.<\/p>\n

Rainer Maria Rilke, 26.9.1899, Berlin-Schmargendorf<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Core presents a “set of two poems, which are the same poem” as phrased by Zachary Bos, one of the respected speakers at the Annual Poetry Reading this year on\u00a0April 16th. The theme of the reading was “Poetry’s Distant Voice”, and here is Zachary Bos’ contribution: From The Book of Hours I, 36 MacDiarmid, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3740,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[898,3892,556,244,477,3891,441,4261],"tags":[48296,48297,48298,3644,3830,197,2100,3481,37489,48299,3591],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3740"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468\/revisions\/2469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}