[3 fragments of Mimnermos]

[3 fragments of Mimnermos]

Translated from the Greek by Anne Carson

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

fr. 8 [that lucky old Sun]

Look: up every bone every sky every day every you—
he goes working his
way up blue earlobes from ocean goes
thrown by rosesudden someone’s
already tomorrow goes riding his bed of daysided
gold goes skimming
sleep countries from west to east until sudden
rosestopped someone’s
already earliness opens the back of the clock: he
steps in.

fr. 5
[a sudden unspeakable sweat]

Sweat. It’s just sweat. But I do like to look at them.
Youth is a dream where I go every night
and wake with just this little jumping bunch of arteries
in my hand.
Hard, darling, to be sent behind their borders
carrying a stone in each eye.

fr. 4
[for poor Tithonos]

They (on the one hand) made his chilly tears immortal
neglecting to tell him
his eyes were not.

Translated from the Greek by ANNE CARSON

Thank you for reading The Nation!

We hope you enjoyed the story you just read, just one of the many incisive, deeply-reported articles we publish daily. Now more than ever, we need fearless journalism that shifts the needle on important issues, uncovers malfeasance and corruption, and uplifts voices and perspectives that often go unheard in mainstream media.

Throughout this critical election year and a time of media austerity and renewed campus activism and rising labor organizing, independent journalism that gets to the heart of the matter is more critical than ever before. Donate right now and help us hold the powerful accountable, shine a light on issues that would otherwise be swept under the rug, and build a more just and equitable future.

For nearly 160 years, The Nation has stood for truth, justice, and moral clarity. As a reader-supported publication, we are not beholden to the whims of advertisers or a corporate owner. But it does take financial resources to report on stories that may take weeks or months to properly investigate, thoroughly edit and fact-check articles, and get our stories into the hands of readers.

Donate today and stand with us for a better future. Thank you for being a supporter of independent journalism.

Thank you for your generosity.

Ad Policy
x