Dibaxu - Juan Gelman

Rating: ★★★★

03/11/16

This is a bilingual Ladino-Castellano poetry collection written by acclaimed Argentine poet Juan dibaxu, a Sephardic term that means “under”. The title already conveys the complex universe the reader may find under the veil of a seeming simplicity; a deluge of obstreperous feelings said in an undertone. The past, love, confusion, countless sensations, strong desires, empty spaces, a search for a homeland – roots with which I fail to identify, once more.

Gelman, published in 1994. He decided to call it

In this book, Gelman's poems first appear in Ladino and then in Spanish; I'll follow the same order, including the English translation afterwards.

XV

tu boz sta escura

di bezus qui a mí no dieras/

di bezus qui a mí no das/

la nochi es polvu dest'ixiliu/

*

tu voz está oscura

de besos que no me diste/

de besos que no me das/

la noche es polvo de este exilio/

*

your voice is dark

of kisses that you did not give to me/

of kisses that you do not give to me/

night is dust from this exile/

The act of revealing real emotions – an act often fraught with ineffable difficulty – never looked so simple. Gelman masterfully expresses in a few words, everything that sometimes requires numerous pages and that tangible concept of fleeting nature we call time; everything that emerges from the depths of love, regret,

shame.

XXIV

amarti es istu:

un avla qui va a dizer/

un arvulicu sin folyas

qui da solombra/

*

amarte es esto:

una palabra que está por decir/

un arbolito sin hojas

que da sombra/

*

loving you is this:

a word that is about to speak/

a small tree without leaves

that provides shade/

Through unique and recurring imagery and a naturally distinctive cadence, he places the reader inside his mind; our mind, that inhospitable region where dreams and yearnings continue to accumulate in secrecy, longing for emotional impetus. Concise lines that belong to a bigger picture, a fragmented reality; lines that are accompanied by the use of somewhat distracting slashes, part of the author's individual style.

X

dizis avlas cun árvulis

tenin folyas qui cantan

y páxarus

qui adjuntan sol/

tu silenziu

disparta

lus gritus

dil mundu/

*

dices palabras con árboles/

tienen hojas que cantan

y pájaros

que juntan sol/

tu silencio

despierta

los gritos

del mundo/

*

you say words with trees/

they have leaves that sing

and birds

that gather sun/

your silence

awakes

the cries

of the world/

Gelman's poetry reveals itself without any affectation; some things are open to interpretation but amid so much comforting frankness, they are so, so clear. He voices his thoughts with simple yet evocative metaphors and a pithy language which defies any traditional rule.

His thoughts, thus, are diaphanous as fire.

XXIX

…

pondrí mi spantu londji/

dibaxu dil pasadu/

qui arde

cayadu com'il sol/

*

…

pondré mi espanto lejos/

debajo del pasado/

que arde

callado como el sol/

*

…

i will set my fear afar/

underneath the past/

that burns

silent as the sun/

* Photo credit: Book cover via Goodreads.