Mandelstam

. . . wiped out a month . . . four months . . . most of the past . . . because if it can't be (re)stored / (re)collected / (re)lived / (re) searched / (re)membered. . . it may be gone . . . if it goes where does it go . . . needing to begin . . . needing to end . . . will be missed . . .
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. " - Samuel Beckett (via archipelago )

. . . lots of reasons . . . started the experiment under the influence of theater & the act defies preservation . . . the appearance remains . . . the guts (soul) removed . . . the empty space . . .

_______________________________

17

I grew out of a dark, vicious
swamp, rustling like a thin reed,
breathing a forbidden life
languidly, passionately, sweetly.

No one sees me
drooping into my cold, marshy home,
welcomed by the quick whispers
of autumnal time.

I like this cruelty, this insult,
and in this dream-like life
I envy everyone in secret,
I'm secretly in love with all of you.

______________________________

Osip Emilevich Mandelstam
(trans. Burton Raffel & Alla Burago)

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