Το an Almsman God.
A pauper King for you,
And an itinerant for you.
THE WHEEL
(A letter from the Pilgrim)
Maria darling,
My friend took me by the hand
The other night.
-“Come, dear pilgrim,” he whispered.
“Come with me. I want to show you
A thing bizarre.
Tell me! What do you see?”
-I see a wheel.
It seems peculiar, like all your crafts.
-It is, indeed.
What else can you see, My friend?
-I see in the centre of the wheel,
A standing damsel with her eyes bandaged;
On top of the wheel,
A sitting man in crown jewels,
And in a royal garment.
I can hear what he says.
He says:
“Now, it is I who reigns!”
On the one side of the enormous structure
A low-hanging person
Excited, maladroit,
Climbs up the wheel and blurts.
I can hear what he says.
Everybody can.
He says, “It is I to reign in a while!’
And on the other side,
And a bit lower,
There is another person.
He staggers down the wheel
And whispers in delirium.
I do hear his babbling.
He says, “It is I that used to reign!’
I have met many a person of that kind.
Most of them…
Oh, I’m bored with them!
But, there is one that inspirits me the most
And poniards my pride, and humbles me.
I see one fallen to his knees.
On his back,
This massive wheel is spinning.
He sustains the wheel.
But who is that porter?
Who is that in rags?
-Hidden in his rags,
Rests the brand new gear.
The one in the rags is the brand-new axle.
I speak the truth, sister,
out of the blue,
Life has turned topsy-turvy!
The man in rags is in the state
of the person with the crown now.
And the damsel…
How has she found herself in rags, too?
fallen backwards like diving,
like a fortune shift,
like falling from the sky.
Her eyes are not bandaged anymore,
But her hands are!
Bound,
Not allowed to do a thing.
And all the others, too…
But why this wheel got frozen
Only for a while?
How all of them became porters?
Such a marvel! What a bustle!
For, Maria darling,
All can see that now,
And see for yourself.
Over the stage of this puppet show,
the obscure Player,
Hovers in light and shadow.
He has been here since forever,
and will run the show forever and a day.
His Highness, people!
The Servant of the Servants!
An almsman God...
A pauper King for you
And an itinerant for you!
The Light of the World
And the Delight of the World,
Of this and of the others.
The Sutradhari, people!
The Sutradhari...
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