Three New Translations from El Verbo Aquí: In the Beginning Was the Word; All Things Were Made By Him; And Without Him Was Not Made Anything That Was Made

The following continues a translation of Prof. Luis Cruz-Villalobos’ poetic exegesis of the Prologue of John’s Gospel, entitled, El Verbo Aquí. Prior translations can be found here and here. We fill in the gaps in this post with his opening poem followed by two further.

In working through each of these poems, it seems more and more the case that poetry may be the exact form necessary to enter more deeply into the truth of these lines (…maybe why these lines have been called the Logos Poem).

And one final note: This exegesis of the opening of John’s Gospel has been combined with a new poetic synthesis of the Sermon on the Mount in a new work with the title, Verbo de Sangre y Luz, many selections of which we hope to feature here in the coming months.

Enjoy!

And, as always, thank you Luis!


IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD


In the beginning

In the primary solitude of God

In the agonizing hope

of love expanded

In the full hope

of love already full in the trinity

There and only there

In that space and zero time

When time and space

embraced one another

In a little dance

Where they were one

in kiss and mystic fusion

In that time

which was a prelude to time

In that space

which was a prelude to space

There

The Word was

And it could not be any other way

For the Being Self-manifests

It cannot not be

And even more

Only He is the possibility

of being for all that is

He is Being in Itself

Which is a basic expression

of its essence

- which afterwards He revealed fully -

Given as a word

As a drop

As fruit

As music

Gives itself

Without expecting anything

Given to everyone in this way

Simply and profoundly


For the next poems, “And the Word Was With God”; “And the Word Was God”; “The Same Was In the Beginning with God” see here. The next two poem in sequence are below:

ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM

Everything

Everything which is

by His hand is

Everything which was

by his hand was

Everything which will be

by his hand will be

And so

forever and ever

Creator and eternal recreator

Craftsman out of nothing

You who make being spring forth

With your presence

tenderly engrossed in labbor

AND WITHOUT HIM NOTHING WAS NOT MADE ANYTHING THAT WAS MADE

Without Him nothing

Absolutely and categorically nothings

Complete nothing

Without Him

Nothing

Probability zero

from existence something

Then everything that is

Is because through Him it was made

Absolute dependence

by everything which was created

Dependence from its origin

Prerogative of the agent

From that one who’s behind and in front

Above and below

From everything which has become 1

1 has become can be literally translated "arrive to be” or “come to be” or “enter into existence”


EN EL PRINCIPIO ERA EL VERBO


En el principio

En la soledad primera de Dios

En la agónica espera

del amor expandido

En la plena espera

del amor ya pleno en trinidad

Allí y sólo allí

En ese espacio y tiempo cero

Cuando tiempo y espacio

se abrazaban

En una danza diminuta

Cuando eran uno

en beso y mística fusión

En ese tiempo

que era preludio del tiempo

En ese espacio

que era preludio del espacio

Allí

El Verbo era

Y no podía ser de otro modo

Pues el Ser automanifestado

No puede no ser

E incluso más

Sólo Él es la posibilidad

de ser para todo lo que es

Es el Ser en Sí

Que como gesto básico

de su esencia

- que después reveló plenamente -

Se da como palabra

Como gota

Como fruto

Como música

Se da

Sin esperar nada

Se da a todos así

Simple y profundamente

TODAS LAS COSAS POR ÉL FUERON HECHAS


Todo

Todo lo que es

por su mano es

Todo lo que fue

por su mano fue

Todo lo que será

por su mano será

Y así

por los siglos de los siglos


Creador y recreador eterno

Artesano de la nada

Que haces brotar el ser

Con tu presencia

tiernamente laboriosa


Y SIN ÉL NADA DE LO QUE ES HECHO, FUÉ HECHO


Sin Él nada

Absoluta y rotundamente nada

Nada total

Sin Él

Nada

Probabilidad cero

de existencia alguna

Pues todo lo que es

Es porque por Él ha sido hecho

Dependencia absoluta

de todo lo creado

Dependencia de origen

Prerrogativa del gestor

De aquel que está detrás y delante

Arriba y abajo

De todo lo que ha llegado a ser



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Verbo de Sangre Y Luz - A Poetic Exegesis of the Sermon on the Mount by Luis Cruz-Villalobos: “Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit” & “Blessed Are You Who Mourn”

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“Epiphany 2023”: A poem by Jock Stein, a “renaissance man of theology, music, art, and literature, and a much-loved pastor”