POETRY IS LIKE TAKING A DEEP BREATH

Sunday 15 August 2010

THE GOOD PAINTER

Nahuatl


The good painter:
The artist of the black and red wisdom,
the creator of things with the black water . . . 

this good painter, understanding,
with god in his heart,
holds a dialogue with his own heart.

He knows the colours, he applies them, he shades them.
He draws feet and faces,
traces the shadows, brings his work to perfection.
Like an artist
he paints the colours of all the flowers.


Anonymous Nahuatl Poem
translated from a Spanish version by J.M. Cohen