I cannot get enough of Anna Akhmatova's poetry. For some reason, the poem below reminded me of Emmanuel Levinas. I beg your apologies for any errors or misconceptions about Levinas' philosophy (it's been at least 7 years since I read Levinas), but the imagery of the poem reminded me of how humans yearn for the Other - that One cannot Be without the Other. However, no matter how strong that desire for the Other, One cannot have him/her fully, on account of the radical difference of that Other.
In the poem below, the yearning for the Other led to nothing but pain and suffering. The humor lies in that, with or without the Other, the Speaker cannot Be.
In the poem below, the yearning for the Other led to nothing but pain and suffering. The humor lies in that, with or without the Other, the Speaker cannot Be.
If I Do Not See You
If I do not see you –
I feel: minutes, as centuries, are endless.
If I once had seen you –
Again suffers a heart’s wound, so merciless.
If I do not see you –
I am winded with frost and with darkness.
If I once had seen you –
Seared by something, with boiled pitch in likeness.
If I want to see you –
Angels’ hands will convey me to Heaven.
If I once had seen you –
To the tortures of Hell I am given.
And my peace is a loss:
Without you or with you – it’s in ruins:
I’m not got by the earth,
And repelled by the heavenly blueness.
If I do not see you –
I feel: minutes, as centuries, are endless.
If I once had seen you –
Again suffers a heart’s wound, so merciless.
If I do not see you –
I am winded with frost and with darkness.
If I once had seen you –
Seared by something, with boiled pitch in likeness.
If I want to see you –
Angels’ hands will convey me to Heaven.
If I once had seen you –
To the tortures of Hell I am given.
And my peace is a loss:
Without you or with you – it’s in ruins:
I’m not got by the earth,
And repelled by the heavenly blueness.
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