L’imperfection est la cime (Yves Bonnefoy)
Posted by arbrealettres sur 9 juillet 2016
L’imperfection est la cime
Il y avait qu’il fallait détruire et détruire et détruire,
Il y avait que le salut n’est qu’à ce prix.
Ruiner la face nue qui monte dans le marbre,
Marteler toute forme toute beauté.
Aimer la perfection parce qu’elle est le seuil,
Mais la nier sitôt connue, l’oublier morte,
L’imperfection est la cime.
***
And so it was that you had to destroy and destroy and destroy,
And so it was that salvation is only at this price.
Ruin the naked face rising out of the marble,
Batter all form all beauty.
Love perfection because it is the threshold,
But once known disown it, once dead forget it,
Imperfection is the summit.
(Yves Bonnefoy)
Reflecting on 2018 – Aja Beech said
[…] any flaw in it to correct, to improve as I continue on. It reminds me of the Yves Bonnefoy poem L’imperfection est la cime (Imperfection is the summit). Something I always get from that poem is that recognizing your own imperfection is the height of […]