Myra here.
Thank you to the very lovely Tabatha Yeatts of The Opposite Of Indifference for hosting this week.
A Book Of Luminous Things: An International Anthology Of Poetry (Amazon | Book Depository)
Edited and with an Introduction by: Czeslaw Milosz
Published by Mariner Books (1998) Original Title: Un libro de cosas luminosas, Antología de poesía internacional
ISBN: 0156005743 (ISBN13: 9780156005746). Bought a copy of the book. Book photo taken by me and edited using an iPhone app.
A few years back, I tried to read this book chronologically, but I was searching for something then that I was not able to find in the pages of this anthology, so I put it down for the meanwhile. I knew I would get back to it when the timing was right for me and I am able to resonate better with its truths. For our current #ReadIntl2020 theme, I thought of dipping in again in this collection of international poems randomly and found this poem, that I wanted to share with you all:
In The Middle Of The Road by Carlos Drummond De Andrade (translated from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Bishop).
I am not exactly sure what it is about this poem that made me pause. At first glance, it is just playful, and even silly. Yet this moment of just acknowledging the “stone in the middle of the road” repeatedly, like it was a precious gem – accompanied by that brief introduction in the beginning about intense meetings and having it preserved forever in one’s memory-scape, is a reminder to me of just being still and paying attention. I hope this “stone” in the middle of the road finds you too – in good health and bright spirits.
Gathering Books 
What grabbed me right away was “Never should I forget this event/in the life of my fatigued retinas.” The only lines NOT mentioning the stone and the road. Curious phrasing, even in a translation, “fatigued retinas.” What is the speaker tired of seeing? Why is seeing this stone -in the middle of the road – so unforgettable? What’s the stone’s significance? My minds goes in a thousand directions … thank you for sharing this captivating little gem.
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Myra, I was drawn to your stone poem too. As a boy I was fascinated by the shape, composition and feel of stones- still am if I’m honest. Sometimes we are attracted to words in an inexplicable way that initially defies explanation. It may be the simplicity of the discovery and its immediate hold over the poet. Thank you for sharing this book.I love the title. Writing about everyday objects and drawing attention to their existence provides them with luminosity.
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This poem seems a bit Zen. It is round, like a stone. All this repetition wrapping up this image and moment, preserving it.
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Thanks for sharing this! I can relate to a book not being quite the thing at one point, but then later being exactly what you want to read. This looks like a great anthology.
Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
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