Sunstone and Fountains

     In the prologue of Robert Hughes' book on Rome, he quotes the opening lines from Octavio Paz's poem entitled "Piedra del Sol."  Here is the passage in both English and Spanish.
     In part, I think the poem's resonance with me centers on the way it begins to catch and convey the mysterious nature of flowing water. The shapes it reveals, the endless eddies and currents, reflect a mysterious quality when viewed closely; it is never the same twice.  With regards to the study abroad posts, I intend to continue to focus upon water in its symbolic as well as its life-giving nature.

SUNSTONE THE POEM

Sunstone | Octavio Paz willow of crystal, a poplar of water,  a pillar of fountain by the wind drawn over,  tree that is firmly rooted and that dances,  turning course of a river that goes curving,  advances and retreats, goes roundabout,  arriving forever:  the calm course of a star  or the spring, appearing without urgency,  water behind a stillness of closed eyelids  flowing all night and pouring out prophecies,  a single presence in the procession of waves  wave over wave until all is overlapped,  in a green sovereignty without decline  a bright hallucination of many wings  when they all open at the height of the sky... PIEDRA DE SOL Piedra de sol | Octavio Paz Un sauce de cristal, un chopo de agua,  un alto surtidor que el viento arquea,  un árbol bien plantado mas danzante,  un caminar de río que se curva,  avanza, retrocede, da un rodeo  y llega siempre:                        un caminar tranquilo  de estrella o primavera sin premura,  agua que con los párpados cerrados  mana toda la noche profecías,  unánime presencia en oleaje,  ola tras ola hasta cubrirlo todo,  verde soberanía sin ocaso  como el deslumbramiento de las alas  cuando se abren en mitad del cielo...