Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Archilochos 279 (How Many Times)








How many times,
How many times
On the gray sea,
The sea combed
By the wind
Like a wilderness 
Of woman's hair,
Have we longed, 
Lost in nostalgia
For the sweetness 
Of homecoming.








1. Top image:  Vija Celmins, Ocean Surface, 1992, Woodcut, Museum of Modern Art, New York City


2. Lower image, Vija Celmins, Ocean Surface, 2000, Wood engraving, National Galleries of Scotland.


3.  Archilochos translation by Guy Davenport. Included in Seven Greeks, New York, New Directions, 1995.

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