the shores of the great silence

.

Is my soul asleep?

Have those beehives that work

in the night stopped? And the water-

wheel of thought, is it

going around now, cups

empty, carrying only shadows?

No, my soul is not asleep.

It is awake, wide awake.

It neither sleeps nor dreams, but watches,

its eyes wide open

far-off things, listens

at the shores of the great silence.

~ Antonio Machado, (1875-1935)

(also known as Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz)

Robert Bly translation

.photo by Julius Shulman