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De Russische dichter en schrijver Ivan Andrejevitsj Krylov werd geboren op 13 februari 1769 in Moskou. Zie ook alle tags voor Ivan Krylov op dit blog.
Swan, Pike And Crawfish
When partners can't agree
Their dealings come to naught
And trouble is their labor's only fruit.
____________
Once Crawfish, Swan and Pike
Set out to pull a loaded cart,
And all together settled in the traces;
They pulled with all their might, but still the cart refused to budge!
The load it seemed was not too much for them:
Yet Crawfish scrambled backwards,
Swan strained up skywards, Pike pulled toward the sea.
Who's guilty here and who is right is
not for us to say-
But anyway the cart's still there today.
Ivan Krylov (13 februari 1769 - 21 november 1844)
Op een Russische postzegel
De Engelse dichteres en schrijfster Eleanor Farjeon werd geboren op 13 februari 1881 in Londen. Zie ook alle tags voor Eeleanor Farjeon op dit blog.
Cats Sleep Anywhere
Cats sleep, anywhere,
Any table, any chair
Top of piano, window-ledge,
In the middle, on the edge,
Open drawer, empty shoe,
Anybody's lap will do,
Fitted in a cardboard box,
In the cupboard, with your frocks-
Anywhere! They don't care!
Cats sleep anywhere.
The Quarrel
I quarreled with my brother,
I don't know what about,
One thing led to another
And somehow we fell out.
The start of it was slight,
The end of it was strong,
He said he was right,
I knew he was wrong!
We hated one another.
The afternoon turned black.
Then suddenly my brother
Thumped me on the back,
And said, "Oh, come on!
We can't go on all night—
I was in the wrong."
So he was in the right.
Eleanor Farjeon (13 februari 1881 – 5 juni 1965)
De Argentijnse dichter en schrijver Ricardo Güiraldes werd geboren op 13 februari 1886 in Buenos Aires. Zie ook alle tags voor Ricardo Güiraldes op dit blog.
Uit: The Gaucho: Contradictions and the Construction of a National Symbol (Studie door Helen Chaffee)
“For Güiraldes, the gaucho, epitomized in the person of Don Segundo, is a symbol of strength and character. While Fabio has his share of unwise decisions and even Don Segundo is not above lying to a corporal of the police, Güiraldes emphasizes the mental and physical endurance the gaucho lifestyle builds. Besides teaching Fabio all nature of work involved in being a gaucho—breaking colts, using bolas, making leather straps, and rounding cattle — Don Segundo teaches Fabio about life, “about endurance and integrity under duress, fatalism in accepting whatever came along without grumbling, moral strength in matters of love, distrust of women and liquor, reserve with strangers, and faith in friends.” According to Güiraldes, the essence of the gaucho lies not in his physical work of rounding up cattle but rather in the strength of character acquired by hard work and a simple lifestyle. This abstract definition of a gaucho allowed any one, no matter their social class or geographical location, to be a gaucho. Don Segundo sums this up in his advice to Fabio: “if you‟re really a gaucho, you don‟t have to change, because wherever you go, you‟ll go with your soul leading the way, like the lead mare of the herd.”46 All Argentines could acquire the strength of character necessary to be a gaucho.
The story of Fabio can be understood as a metaphor for Argentina‟s own national story. The young Fabio starts out with a decided lack of identity—he does not know who his parents are, he wanders through the town with no friends, making fun of boys his own age. This connects to the confusion surrounding national identity in early twentieth century Argentina.”
Ricardo Güiraldes (13 februari 1886 – 8 oktober 1927)
De Italiaanse dichteres Antonia Pozzi werd geboren op 13 februari 1912 in Milaan. Zie ook alle tags voor Antonia Pozzi op dit blog.
Modesty
If a word of mine
pleases you
and you tell me
even just with your eyes
I open wide
in a joyful smile –
but I tremble
like a young mother
who even blushes when
a passerby tells her
her little boy is handsome.
A Longing for Light Things
Frail blonde reeds
like a field of wheat
beside the sky-blue lake
the houses of a distant island
the color of sails
ready to set off –
A longing for light things
in the heart as heavy
as a stone
inside a boat –
Yet one evening it will reach
these shores,
the unfettered soul:
without folding down the reeds
without stirring up water or air
it will set sail – with the houses
of the distant island,
for a high reef
of stars –
Vertaald door Nick Benson
Antonia Pozzi (13 februari 1912 – 3 december 1938)
Cover
De Oostenrijkse dichter, schrijver, vertaler en jurist Friedrich Adler werd geboren op 13 februari 1857 in Amschelberg in Midden-Bohemen (nu Tsjechisch: Kosova Hora). Zie ook alle tags voor Friedrich Adler op dit blog.
Frühlingsgebet
Wieder wallen die süßen Lüfte
Und den farbigen Brautkranz
Flicht die Erde, die ewig junge
Wieder in′s perlenglitzernde Haar;
Aufleuchtend erglüht
Zu neuer Freude das Auge,
Das zum Staube sich trüb′ gesenkt;
Hoffend wendet das Herz sich
Der Zukunft zu,
Die sich golden aufthut,
Und auf die Lippen drängt,
Innig geflüstert
Sich das tiefste Gebet der Seele.
Selten in mein Herz
Ist der fröhliche Lenz gekehrt,
Und meine Blüthen
Hast du mit Schauer umweht und Frost,
Finster waltendes Schicksal:
Hast mich früh hinausgedrängt,
Mit dem Leben zu kämpfen,
Und strenge Nothwendigkeit
Verscheuchte die süßen Bilder,
Welche die Dichtung spinnt,
Die sorgenlose, die ewig
Heitere Göttin.
Gabst du den Kampf, ich habe gekämpft!
Wirst du die Sonne mir verhüllen,
Im Dunkel werd′ ich suchen den Weg –
Eins nur begehre ich.
Laß mir die Seele frei von Bitterniß,
Daß mir immer traut und verständlich
Die Sprache sei,
Die der Mai spricht,
Daß keine Rose vergebens
Den köstlichen Hauch mir entgegenwehe,
Kein Lied,
Das freier Kehle wirbelnd entsteigt,
Ungehört an das Ohr mir schlage ...
Laß mir die Seele frei von Neid,
Laß mich glücklichere Lippen
Schlürfen seh′n der Freude Labetrunk
Und dann ruhig zurückkehren
Unter die Last der Arbeit,
In den eisernen Dienst der Pflicht.
Friedrich Adler (13 februari 1857 – 2 februari 1938)
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