I do not want
to learn the fine art of forgetting,
for it leaves
too bitter a taste
in the wake of its momentary weightlessness.

I want to teach my heart
to sing through tears,
to be the calm boat
adrift on the waves of stormy seas,
to turn memory
into lasting tenderness.

*diary entry, June 2019

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Doucement ils viennent,
seuls, et pourtant ensemble
inséparables
comme des rayons de lumière
un peu trop éblouissante.

Leurs sourires sont des sourires des amants
qui enfuient le temps, la mort
dans les ruelles
d’une cité vide
avec la chanson du ciel
portée dans leurs soupirs.

*à Prague, Octobre 2018

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C’est un mystère
d’avoir le ciel
sous les pieds –
un ciel tout nu
comme un cœur
qui essaie
de s’exprimer.

Des nuages jouent
une chansone d’automne
si triste
qu’il pleut de mélancolie
sur les toits
d’une âme qui s’éteint

Quel mystère, quelle folie,
mon Dieu,
d’avoir fait un cœur
comme le mien.

*à Prague, Octobre 2018

Ah j’ai le cœur gros,

Oppressé par les mystères que je devine.

BRUNO SCHULZ – Le Printemps

The greatest treasures in life come layered in subtlety – beauty and wisdom hidden beneath the folds; understanding subtlety, however, takes time and patience, and a heart smooth and malleable like wax.

In choosing the opening quote by Polish writer of Jewish origin, whom I had had the honour to encounter on a half-forgotten shelf of a small antiquarian bookshop in the forlorn lanes of Prague, I came to realize that this soft, poetic sigh bears a large significance, for it represents the ultimate achievement one can possibly strive for – a heart that revels in the mysteries of life, accepting all their intricate subtleties.

And, unfortunately, it may seem the world has long forgotten the imperceptible art of subtlety.

As someone who bears the unique privilege and the heavy responsibility to see life from both sides, to witness the miracle of a life being born and the grief of a life flickering out, I decided to lay down the records of exalted joys and private mourning, for there is a long path to be trodden connecting them both – a path nothing short of interesting for its richness of discovery and perception.

And so in setting up this small creative corner, I will focus on that vast landscape lying in between which, detail after detail, laboriously builds our inner and outer reality.