The cantos of ezra pound [from The Cantos of Ezra Pound (1972)]
Yüklə 2,9 Mb.
|
|
2397 So we sat there, with the old kindly professor, 2398 And the stubby little man was up-stairs. 2399 And there was the slick guy in the other [Page 85] 2400 corner reading The Tatler, 2401 Not upside down, but never turning the pages, 2402 And then I went up to the bed-room, and he said, 2403 The stubby fellow: Perfectly true, 2404 "But it's a question of feeling, 2405 "Can't move 'em with a cold thing, like economics." 2406 And so we came down stairs and went out, 2407 And the slick guy looked out of the window, 2408 And in came the street "Lemme-at-'em" 2409 like a bull-dog in a mackintosh. 2410 O my Clio! 2411 Then the telephone didn't work for a week. 2412 Ever seen Prishnip, little hunchback, 2413 Couldn't take him for any army. 2414 And he said: I haf a messache from dh' professor, 2415 "There's lots of 'em want to go over, 2416 "But when they try to go over, 2417 "Dh' hRussian boys shoot 'em, and they want to know 2418 "How to go over." 2419 Vlettmann?... was out there, and that was, 2420 Say, two months later, and he said: 2421 "Jolly chaps," he said; "they used to go by 2422 "Under my window, at two o'clock in the morning, 2423 "All singing, all singing the Hé Sloveny!" 2424 Yes, Vlettmann, and the Russian boys didn't shoot'em. 2425 Short story, entitled, the Birth of a Nation. 2426 And there was that squirt of an Ausstrrian 2427 with a rose in his button-hole, 2428 And how the hell he stayed on here, 2429 right through the whole bhloody business, 2430 Cocky as Khristnoze, and enjoying every Boche victory. 2431 Naphtha, or some damn thing for the submarines, [Page 86] 2432 Like they had, just had, to have the hemp 2433 via Rotterdam. 2434 Das thust du nicht, Albert? 2435 That was in the old days, all sitting around in arm-chairs, 2436 And that's gone, like the cake shops in the Nevsky. 2437 "No use telling 'em anything, revolutionaries, 2438 Till they're at the end, 2439 Oh, absolootly, AT the end of their tether. 2440 Governed. Governed the place from a train, 2441 Or rather from three trains, on a railway, 2442 And he'd keep about three days ahead of the lobby, 2443 I mean he had his government on the trains, 2444 And the lobby had to get there on horseback; 2445 And he said: Bigod it's damn funny, 2446 Own half the oil in the world, and can't get enough 2447 To run a government engine!" 2448 And then they jawed for two hours, 2449 And finally Steff said: Will you fellows show me a map? 2450 And they brought one, and Steff said: 2451 "Waal what are those lines?" "Yes, those straight lines." 2452 "Those are roads." And "what are those lines, 2453 "The wiggly ones?" "Rivers." 2454 And Steff said: "Government property?" 2455 So two hours later an engine went off with the order: 2456 How to dig without confiscation. 2457 And Tommy Baymont said to Steff one day: 2458 "You think we run it, lemme tell you, 2459 "We bought a coalmine, I mean the mortgage fell in, 2460 "And you'd a' thought we could run it. 2461 "Well I had to go down there meself, and the manager 2462 "Said: "Run it, of course we can run it, 2463 "We can't sell the damn coal." [Page 87] 2464 So I said to the X. and B. Central, 2465 --- you'd say we boss the X. and B. Central? --- 2466 I said: You buy your damn coal from our mine. 2467 And a year later they hadn't; so I had up the directors, 2468 And they said:... well anyhow, they couldn't 2469 buy the damn coal. 2470 And next week ole Jim came, the big fat one 2471 With the diamonds, and he said: "Mr. Baymont, 2472 You just must charge two dollars more 2473 A ton fer that coal. And the X. and B. will 2474 Take it through us." 2475 "So there was my ole man sitting, 2476 They were in arm-chairs, according to protocol, 2477 And next him his nephew Mr. Wurmsdorf, 2478 And old Ptierstoff, for purely family reasons, 2479 Personal reasons, was held in great esteem 2480 by his relatives, 2481 And he had his despatches from St. Petersburg, 2482 And Wurmsdorf had his from Vienna, 2483 And he knew, and they knew, and each knew 2484 That the other knew that the other knew he knew, 2485 And Wurmsdorf was just reaching into his pocket, 2486 That was to start things, and then my ole man 2487 Said it: 2488 Albert, and the rest of it. 2489 Those days are gone by for ever." 2490 "Ten years gone, ten years of my life, 2491 Never get those ten years back again: 2492 Ten years of my life, ten years in the Indian army; 2493 But anyhow, there was that time in Yash (Jassy): 2494 That was something, 14 girls in a fortnight." 2495 "Healthy but verminous?" "That's it, healthy but verminous. 2496 And one time in Kashmir, [Page 88] 2497 In the houseboats, with the turquoise, 2498 A pile three feet high on the boat floor, 2499 And they'd be there all day at a bargain 2500 For ten bobs' worth of turquoise." [Page 89] XX 2501 Sound slender, quasi tinnula, 2502 Ligur' aoide: Si no'us vei, Domna don plus mi cal, 2503 Negus vezer mon bel pensar no val." 2504 Between the two almond trees flowering, 2505 The viel held close to his side; 2506 And another: s'adora". 2507 "Possum ego naturae 2508 non meminisse tuae!" Qui son Properzio ed Ovidio. 2509 The boughs are not more fresh 2510 where the almond shoots 2511 take their March green. 2512 And that year I went up to Freiburg, 2513 And Rennert had said: Nobody, no, nobody 2514 Knows anything about Provençal, or if there is anybody, 2515 It's old Lévy." 2516 And so I went up to Freiburg, 2517 And the vacation was just beginning, 2518 The students getting off for the summer, 2519 Freiburg im Breisgau, 2520 And everything clean, seeming clean, after Italy. 2521 And I went to old Lévy, and it was by then 6.30 2522 in the evening, and he trailed half way across Freiburg 2523 before dinner, to see the two strips of copy, 2524 Arnaut's, settant'uno R. superiore (Ambrosiana) 2525 Not that I could sing him the music. 2526 And he said: Now is there anything I can tell you?" 2527 And I said: I dunno, sir, or 2528 "Yes, Doctor, what do they mean by noigandres?" 2529 And he said: Noigandres! NOIgandres! [Page 90] 2530 "You know for seex mon's of my life 2531 "Effery night when I go to bett, I say to myself: 2532 "Noigandres, eh, noigandres, 2533 "Now what the DEFFIL can that mean!" 2534 Wind over the olive trees, ranunculae ordered, 2535 By the clear edge of the rocks 2536 The water runs, and the wind scented with pine 2537 And with hay-fields under sun-swath. 2538 Agostino, Jacopo and Boccata. 2539 You would be happy for the smell of that place 2540 And never tired of being there, either alone 2541 Or accompanied. 2542 Sound: as of the nightingale too far off to be heard. 2543 Sandro, and Boccata, and Jacopo Sellaio; 2544 The ranunculæ, and almond, 2545 Boughs set in espalier, 2546 Duccio, Agostino; e l'olors--- 2547 The smell of that place---d'enoi ganres. 2548 Air moving under the boughs, 2549 The cedars there in the sun, 2550 Hay new cut on hill slope, 2551 And the water there in the cut 2552 Between the two lower meadows; sound, 2553 The sound, as I have said, a nightingale 2554 Too far off to be heard. 2555 And the light falls, remir, 2556 from her breast to thighs. 2557 He was playing there at the palla. 2558 Parisina---two doves for an altar---at the window, 2559 "E'l Marchese 2560 Stava per divenir pazzo 2561 after it all." And that was when Troy was down 2562 And they came here and cut holes in rock, 2563 Down Rome way, and put up the timbers; [Page 91] 2564 And came here, condit Atesten ... 2565 "Peace! keep the peace, Borso." 2566 And he said: Some bitch has sold us 2567 (that was Ganelon) 2568 "They wont get another such ivory." 2569 And he lay there on the round hill under the cedar 2570 A little to the left of the cut (Este speaking) 2571 By the side of the summit, and he said: 2572 "I have broken the horn, bigod, I have 2573 "Broke the best ivory, l'olofans." And he said: 2574 "Tan mare fustes!" 2575 pulling himself over the gravel, 2576 "Bigod! that buggar is done for, 2577 "They wont get another such ivory." 2578 And they were there before the wall, Toro, las almenas, 2579 (Este, Nic Este speaking) 2580 Under the battlement 2581 (Epi purgo) peur de la hasle, 2582 And the King said: 2583 "God what a woman! 2584 My God what a woman" said the King telo rigido. 2585 "Sister!" says Ancures, "'s your sister!" 2586 Alf left that town to Elvira, and Sancho wanted 2587 It from her, Toro and Zamora. 2588 "Bloody spaniard! 2589 Neestho, le'er go back ... 2590 in the autumn." 2591 "Este, go' damn you." between the walls, arras, 2592 Painted to look like arras. 2593 Jungle: 2594 Glaze green and red feathers, jungle, 2595 Basis of renewal, renewals; 2596 Rising over the soul, green virid, of the jungle, 2597 Lozenge of the pavement, clear shapes, 2598 Broken, disrupted, body eternal,
2600 Basis of renewals, subsistence, 2601 Glazed green of the jungle; 2602 Zoe, Marozia, Zothar, 2603 loud over the banners, 2604 Glazed grape, and the crimson, 2605 HO BIOS, 2606 cosi Elena vedi, 2607 In the sunlight, gate cut by the shadow; 2608 And then the faceted air: 2609 Floating. Below, sea churning shingle. 2610 Floating, each on invisible raft, 2611 On the high current, invisible fluid, 2612 Borne over the plain, recumbent, 2613 The right arm cast back, 2614 the right wrist for a pillow, 2615 The left hand like a calyx, 2616 Thumb held against finger, the third, 2617 The first fingers petal'd up, the hand as a lamp, 2618 A calyx. 2619 From toe to head 2620 The purple, blue-pale smoke, as of incense; 2621 Wrapped each in burnous, smoke as the olibanum's, 2622 Swift, as if joyous. 2623 Wrapped, floating; and the blue-pale smoke of the incense 2624 Swift to rise, then lazily in the wind 2625 as Aeolus over bean-field, 2626 As hay in the sun, the olibanum, saffron, 2627 As myrrh without styrax; 2628 Each man in his cloth, as on raft, on 2629 The high invisible current; 2630 On toward the fall of water; 2631 And then over that cataract, 2632 In air, strong, the bright flames, V shaped; 2633 Nel fuoco
2635 Yellow, bright saffron, croceo; 2636 And as the olibanum bursts into flame, 2637 The bodies so flamed in the air, took flame, 2638 "... Mi mise, il mio sposo novello." 2639 Shot from stream into spiral, 2640 Or followed the water. Or looked back to the flowing; 2641 Others approaching that cataract, 2642 As to dawn out of shadow, the swathed cloths 2643 Now purple and orange, 2644 And the blue water dusky beneath them, 2645 pouring there into the cataract, 2646 With noise of sea over shingle, 2647 striking with: 2648 hah hah ahah thmm, thunb, ah 2649 woh woh araha thumm, bhaaa. 2650 And from the floating bodies, the incense 2651 blue-pale, purple above them. 2652 Shelf of the lotophagoi, 2653 Aerial, cut in the aether. 2654 Reclining, 2655 With the silver spilla, 2656 The ball as of melted amber, coiled, caught up, and turned. 2657 Lotophagoi of the suave nails, quiet, scornful, 2658 Voce-profondo: 2659 "Feared neither death nor pain for this beauty; 2660 If harm, harm to ourselves." 2661 And beneath: the clear bones, far down, 2662 Thousand on thousand. 2663 "What gain with Odysseus, 2664 "They that died in the whirlpool 2665 "And after many vain labours, 2666 "Living by stolen meat, chained to the rowingbench, 2667 "That he should have a great fame [Page 94] 2668 "And lie by night with the goddess? 2669 "Their names are not written in bronze 2670 "Nor their rowing sticks set with Elpenor's; 2671 "Nor have they mound by sea-bord. 2672 "That saw never the olives under Spartha 2673 "With the leaves green and then not green, 2674 "The click of light in their branches; 2675 "That saw not the bronze hall nor the ingle 2676 "Nor lay there with the queen's waiting maids, 2677 "Nor had they Circe to couch-mate, Circe Titania, 2678 "Nor had they meats of Kalüpso 2679 "Or her silk skirts brushing their thighs. 2680 "Give! What were they given? 2681 Ear-wax. 2682 "Poison and ear-wax, 2683 and a salt grave by the bull-field, 2684 "neson amumona, their heads like sea crows in the foam, 2685 "Black splotches, sea-weed under lightning; 2686 "Canned beef of Apollo, ten cans for a boat load." 2687 Ligur' aoide. 2688 And from the plain whence the water-shoot, 2689 Across, back, to the right, the roads, a way in the grass, 2690 The Khan's hunting leopard, and young Salustio 2691 And Ixotta; the suave turf 2692 Ac ferae familiares, and the cars slowly, 2693 And the panthers, soft-footed. 2694 Plain, as the plain of Somnus, 2695 the heavy cars, as a triumph, 2696 Gilded, heavy on wheel, 2697 and the panthers chained to the cars, 2698 Over suave turf, the form wrapped, 2699 Rose, crimson, deep crimson, 2700 And, in the blue dusk, a colour as of rust in the sunlight, 2701 Out of white cloud, moving over the plain, [Page 95] 2702 Head in arm's curve, reclining; 2703 The road, back and away, till cut along the face of the rock, 2704 And the cliff folds in like a curtain, 2705 The road cut in under the rock 2706 Square groove in the cliff's face, as chiostri, 2707 The columns crystal, with peacocks cut in the capitals, 2708 The soft pad of beasts dragging the cars; 2709 Cars, slow, without creak, 2710 And at windows in inner roadside: 2711 le donne e i cavalieri 2712 smooth face under hennin, 2713 The sleeves embroidered with flowers, 2714 Great thistle of gold, or an amaranth, 2715 Acorns of gold, or of scarlet, 2716 Cramoisi and diaspre 2717 slashed white into velvet; 2718 Crystal columns, acanthus, sirens in the pillar heads; 2719 And at last, between gilded barocco, 2720 Two columns coiled and fluted, 2721 Vanoka, leaning half naked, 2722 waste hall there behind her. 2723 "Peace! 2724 Borso..., Borso!"
XXI
2725 Keep the peace, Borso!" Where are we? 2726 "Keep on with the business, 2727 That's made me, 2728 "And the res publica didn't. 2729 "When I was broke, and a poor kid, 2730 "They all knew me, all of these cittadini, 2731 "And they all of them cut me dead, della gloria." 2732 Intestate, 1429, leaving 178,221 florins di sugello, 2733 As is said in Cosimo's red leather note book. Di sugello. 2734 And "with his credit emptied Venice of money"--- 2735 That was Cosimo--- 2736 "And Naples, and made them accept his peace." 2737 And he caught the young boy Ficino 2738 And had him taught the greek language; 2739 "With two ells of red cloth per person 2740 I will make you", Cosimo speaking, "as many 2741 Honest citizens as you desire." 2742 Col credito suo ... 2743 Napoli e Venezia di danari ... 2744 Costretti ... Napoli e Venezia ... a quella pace ... 2745 Or another time ... oh well, pass it. 2746 And Piero called in the credits, 2747 (Diotisalvi was back of that) 2748 And firms failed as far off as Avignon, 2749 And Piero was like to be murdered, 2750 And young Lauro came down ahead of him, in the road, 2751 And said: Yes, father is coming. 2752 Intestate, '69, in December, leaving me 237,989 florins, 2753 As you will find in my big green account book 2754 In carta di capretto; [Page 97] 2755 And from '34 when I count it, to last year, 2756 We paid out 600,000 and over, 2757 That was for building, taxes and charity. 2758 Nic Uzano saw us coming. Against it, honest, 2759 And warned 'em. They'd have murdered him, 2760 And would Cosimo, but he bribed 'em; 2761 And they did in Giuliano. E difficile, 2762 A Firenze difficile viver ricco 2763 Senza aver lo stato. 2764 "E non avendo stato Piccinino 2765 "Doveva temerlo qualunque era in stato;" 2766 And "that man sweated blood to put through that railway"; 2767 "Could you", wrote Mr. Jefferson, 2768 "Find me a gardener 2769 Who can play the french horn? 2770 The bounds of American fortune 2771 Will not admit the indulgence of a domestic band of 2772 Musicians, yet I have thought that a passion for music 2773 Might be reconciled with that economy which we are 2774 Obliged to observe. I retain among my domestic servants 2775 A gardener, a weaver, a cabinet-maker, and a stone-cutter, 2776 To which I would add a vigneron. In a country like yours 2777 (id est Burgundy) where music is cultivated and 2778 Practised by every class of men, I suppose there might 2779 Be found persons of these trades who could perform on 2780 The french horn, clarionet, or hautboy and bassoon, so 2781 That one might have a band of two french horns, two 2782 Clarionets, two hautboys and a bassoon, without enlarging 2783 Their domestic expenses. A certainty of employment for 2784 Half a dozen years 2785 (affatigandose per suo piacer o non) 2786 And at the end of that time, to find them, if they 2787 Choose, a conveyance to their own country, might induce 2788 Them to come here on reasonable wages. Without meaning to 2789 Give you trouble, perhaps it might be practicable for you
2791 Such men disposed to come to America. Sobriety and good 2792 Nature would be desirable parts of their characters" 2793 June 1778 Montecello 2794 And in July I went up to Milan for Duke Galeaz 2795 To sponsor his infant in baptism, 2796 Albeit were others more worthy, 2797 And took his wife a gold collar holding a diamond 2798 That cost about 3000 ducats, on which account 2799 That signor Galeaz Sforza Visconti has wished me 2800 To stand sponsor to all of his children. 2801 Another war without glory, and another peace without quiet. 2802 And the Sultan sent him an assassin, his brother; 2803 And the Soldan of Egypt, a lion; 2804 And he begat one pope and one son and four daughters, 2805 And an University, Pisa; (Lauro Medici) 2806 And nearly went broke in his business, 2807 And bought land in Siena and Pisa, 2808 And made peace by his own talk in Naples. 2809 And there was grass on the floor of the temple, 2810 Or where the floor of it might have been; 2811 Gold fades in the gloom, 2812 Under the blue-black roof, Placidia's, 2813 Of the exarchate; and we sit here 2814 By the arena, les gradins ... 2815 And the palazzo, baseless, hangs there in the dawn 2816 With low mist over the tide-mark; 2817 And floats there nel tramonto 2818 With gold mist over the tide-mark. 2819 The tesserae of the floor, and the patterns. 2820 Fools making new shambles; 2821 night over green ocean, 2822 And the dry black of the night.
2824 And the dry flame in the air, 2825 Voices of the procession, 2826 Faint now, from below us, 2827 And the sea with tin flash in the sun-dazzle, 2828 Like dark wine in the shadows. 2829 "Wind between the sea and the mountains" 2830 The tree-spheres half dark against sea 2831 half clear against sunset, 2832 The sun's keel freighted with cloud, 2833 And after that hour, dry darkness 2834 Floating flame in the air, gonads in organdy, 2835 Dry flamelet, a petal borne in the wind. 2836 Gignetei kalon. 2837 Impenetrable as the ignorance of old women. 2838 In the dawn, as the fleet coming in after Actium, 2839 Shore to the eastward, and altered, 2840 And the old man sweeping leaves: 2841 "Damned to you Midas, Midas lacking a Pan!" 2842 And now in the valley, 2843 Valley under the day's edge: 2844 "Grow with the Pines of Ise; 2845 "As the Nile swells with Inopos. 2846 "As the Nile falls with Inopos." 2847 Phoibos, turris eburnea, 2848 ivory against cobalt, 2849 And the boughs cut on the air, 2850 The leaves cut on the air, 2851 The hounds on the green slope by the hill, 2852 water still black in the shadow. 2853 In the crisp air, 2854 the discontinuous gods; 2855 Pallas, young owl in the cup of her hand, 2856 And, by night, the stag runs, and the leopard, 2857 Owl-eye amid pine boughs.
2859 confusion; 2860 Confusion, source of renewals; 2861 Yellow wing, pale in the moon shaft, 2862 Green wing, pale in the moon shaft, 2863 Pomegranate, pale in the moon shaft, 2864 White horn, pale in the moon shaft, and Titania 2865 By the drinking hole, 2866 steps, cut in the basalt. 2867 Danced there Athame, danced, and there Phæthusa 2868 With colour in the vein, 2869 Strong as with blood-drink, once, 2870 With colour in the vein, 2871 Red in the smoke-faint throat. Dis caught her up. Yüklə 2,9 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
|