Thread: Animosity poems
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Unread 11-26-2008, 07:59 AM
Roger Slater Roger Slater is online now
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Location: New York
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Animosity is my stock in trade, but I'll start with a translation I did of Sor Juana:

SONNET FOR CELIO
Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz

... You claim that I've forgotten you? You lie
to say that I'd remember to forget you.
My memory never had a place to set you
from which it could forget you, which is why

... my thoughts are now distinct and don't apply
in any way to you; they've never met you;
they don't know how to slander or regret you,
or if you'd be offended should they try.

... If being loved had ever been your due,
then you could be forgotten and might claim
the glory of a power you once knew,

... but you are not entitled to such fame.
"Forget" and "don't recall" are not the same.
There's nothing to forget regarding you.
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