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