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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Tercet woods



"Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura
ché la via diritta era smarrita. ..."


-- Dante, Inferno


*****


Playing with a camera, I find something lost (and something gained) in translating the world into an image, analogous to these translators' journeys into Dante.

"When I had journeyed half of our life's way,
I found myself within a shadowed forest,
for I had lost the path that does not stray. ..."


-- Mandelbaum's translation


"Midway in our life's journey, I went astray
from the straight road and woke to find myself
alone in a dark wood. ..."


-- Ciardi's translation

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:10 AM

    hey lori!
    i have been checking in... and ur beautiful pics are just... beautiful... i agree with u that nature is a place to just be... and in being u become alive! thanks for ur kind words... and images...

    ReplyDelete
  2. "I had lost the path that does not stray"

    Less clear, more enigmatic--sticks more in the mind.

    What about Longfellow?

    Midway upon the journey of our life

    I found myself within a forest dark,

    For the straightforward pathway had been lost.


    Or Pinsky!

    ReplyDelete
  3. fascinating thoughts to start a day with. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. yes, I like Mandelbaum best...and your photo.

    ReplyDelete