Thursday 25 February 2016

Anneke Brassinga and Lucretius

short-lived

‘Only the atoms and the void are immortal,’
says Lucretius. What binds us is the fact we
shall be broken down into our single atoms.

What binds us is to be short-lived and love each other,
to feel more for our common mortal knowledge
of each other’s mortal being than for those

confounded atoms. Death is too small
and too great, but life is stronger, consists
in the fleeting force of what is weak,

in the exceptional coincidence
of this material gathering, in joy
that quite surpasses all the atoms.

1 comment:

John Irons said...

To see the original Dutch poem, go to here:

http://www.leesliter.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=472:recensie-het-wederkerige-van-brassinga&catid=65&Itemid=212