For Ian Gold – 2 by Holderlin

RIPENED THE FRUIT…

Ripened the fruit, in fire cast, baked
And tried on the earth, and it is the law
That all go back into it, like snakes,
Prophetic, dreaming on
The hills of the heavens. And there is so much
Like a burden
Of logs on the shoulders
That has to be borne.

Though the roads
Are not right. For discrepant,
As horses, go the tethered
Elements and the immemorial
Laws of the earth. And ever
A longing strains after the fetterless. But there is so much
That has to be borne. And one must be true.
Let us look not before, though,
Nor after. May we be rocked, rather, as
A boat is cradled at sea.

Friedrich Holderlin
Translated by Kate Flores
.
.

Patmos (fragment)
.Near is God, and hard to apprehend.
But where danger is,
There arises salvation also.
In darkness dwell the eagles,
And fearless across the abyss go
the sons of the Alps
On lightly-built bridges.
Therefore, since all round
Are upheaped the summits of time
And those who dwell nearest in love
Must languish on uttermost mountains
Give us then innocent water,
Oh, pinions give us
That we may pass over
With constant minds
And again return.
.
Friedrich Holderlin
(quoted to the best of my recollection)

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