Tuesday, December 27, 2011

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND



"Yet here for ever, ever must I stay;
Sad proof how well a lover can obey!
Death, only death, can break the lasting chain;
And here, ev'n then, shall my cold dust remain,
Here all its frailties, all its flames resign,
And wait till 'tis no sin to mix with thine.

Ah wretch! believ'd the spouse of God in vain,
Confess'd within the slave of love and man.
Assist me, Heav'n! but whence arose that pray'r?
Sprung it from piety, or from despair?
Ev'n here, where frozen chastity retires,
Love finds an altar for forbidden fires.
I ought to grieve, but cannot what I ought;
I mourn the lover, not lament the fault;
I view my crime, but kindle at the view,
Repent old pleasures, and solicit new;
Now turn'd to Heav'n, I weep my past offence,
Now think of thee, and curse my innocence.
Of all affliction taught a lover yet,
'Tis sure the hardest science to forget!
How shall I lose the sin, yet keep the sense,
And love th' offender, yet detest th' offence?
How the dear object from the crime remove,
Or how distinguish penitence from love?
Unequal task! a passion to resign,
For hearts so touch'd, so pierc'd, so lost as mine.
Ere such a soul regains its peaceful state,
How often must it love, how often hate!
How often hope, despair, resent, regret,
Conceal, disdain — do all things but forget.
But let Heav'n seize it, all at once 'tis fir'd;
Not touch'd, but rapt; not waken'd, but inspir'd!
Oh come! oh teach me nature to subdue,
Renounce my love, my life, myself — and you.
Fill my fond heart with God alone, for he
Alone can rival, can succeed to thee.

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resigned..."


Taken from: ALEXANDER POPE, Eloisa to Abelard

5 comments:

Mariane said...

Nossa!!! Uaaauuuuu...Chiara! A quanto tempo que não escreve por aqui. Espero que continue. ;) Quanta saudades. Beijos da sua fã.

Zilda Pedro said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Sua musica muitas vezes me fez apanhar sol por dentro... Muito Obrigada pela generosidade em partilhar o que traz guardado em si. Que o novo ano lhe traga a concretização de tudo aquilo que descobrir querer da vida.
Aguardo Chiara Civello em Portugal, esse será para mim um dia feliz!!

Anonymous said...

C'est très beau

Zilda Pedro said...

Literature, many times, bring us, in a very amazing way, those immeasurable, unutterable and unachievable feelings and things in life, but perfectly achievable in art. And poetry moves from a kind of art to another one, from poem to movie, from writen emotions to acted ones. What a beautiful poem! It reminds me a great woman writer from my country (Brazil) – Clarice Lispector, when she says: “Viver ultrapassa todo entendimento”. life is (maybe) enormous paradox. Bella scelta l’hai fatta tu per meterla nel tuo blog.