A Gata Christie

Death's Echo, de W.H. Auden

“(...) “O life’s too short for friends who share,”
Travellers think in their hearts,
“The city’s common bed, the air,
The mountain bivouac and the bathing beach,
Where incidents draw every day from each
Memorable gesture and witty speech.”
So travellers think in their hearts,
Till malice or circumstance parts
Them from their constant humour:
And slyly Death’s coercive rumour
In that moment starts:
A friend is the old old tale of Narcissus,
Not to be born is the best for man;
An active partner in something disgraceful,
Change your partner, dance while you can.

“O stretch your hands across the sea,”
The impassioned lover cries,
“Stretch them towards your harm and me.
Our grass is green, and sensual our brief bed,
The stream sings at its foot, and at its head
The mild and vegetarian beasts are fed.”
So the impassioned lover cries
Till the storm of pleasure dies:
From the bedpost and the rocks
Death’s enticing echo mocks,
And his voice replies:
The greater the love, the more false to its object,
Not to be born is the best for man;
After the kiss comes the impulse to throttle,
Break the embraces, dance while you can.

“I see the guilty world forgiven,”
Dreamer and drunkard sing,
“The ladders let down out of heaven,
The laurel springing from the martyr’s blood,
The children skipping where the weeper stood,
The lovers natural and the beasts all good.”
So dreamer and drunkard sing
Till day their sobriety bring:
Parrotwise with Death’s reply
From whelping fear and nesting lie,
Woods and their echoes ring:
The desires of the heart are as crooked as corkscrews,
Not to be born is the best for man;
The second-best is a formal order,
The dance’s pattern; dance while you can.

Dance, dance, for the figure is easy,
The tune is catching and will not stop;
Dance till the stars come down from the rafters;
Dance, dance, dance till you drop."

Um poema que descobri graças ao filme Império da Luz, de Sam Mendes, com a grande Olivia Colman. Um filme sobre a solidão. Sobre a solidão de uma mulher. Sobre a solidão de uma mulher que já não é muito nova. Sim, é também um filme sobre mim. Sobre as pequenas estratégias que encontramos para lidar com isto. Sobre a importância de termos quem nos veja como realmente somos. E sobre dançar, enquanto podemos, mesmo que seja em casa, sem sapatos, sem par.