Serendipity

First paint a cage

with an open door

then paint

something pretty

something simple

something beatiful

something useful

for the bird

then place the canvas against a tree

in a garden

in a wood

or in a forest

hide behind the tree

without speaking

without moving…

Sometimes the bird comes quickly

but it can also take years

before deciding

Don’t be discouraged

wait

wait for years if necessary

the swiftness or slowness of the coming

of the bird having no bearing

on the success of the painting

When the bird comes

if it comes

observe the most profound silence

wait till the bird enters the cage

and when it has entered

gently close the door with a brush

then

rub out all the bars one by one

taking care not to touch any of the bird’s feathers

Then paint the portrait of the tree

choosing the most beatiful of its branches

for the bird

paint also the green foliage and the wind’s freshness

the dust of the sun

and the noise of insects in the summer heat

and then wait for the bird to decide to sing

If the bird doesn’t sing

it’s a bad sign

a sign that the painting is bad

but if it sings it is a good sign

a sign that you can sign

so then very gently pull out

one of the feathers of the bird

and write your name in a corner of the painting.

(Jacques Prevert. Paroles.)

In a square on a bench

There’s a man who calls you when you pass

He has eyeglasses and old grey clothes

He smokes a little cigarillo

He is seated

And he calls you when you pass

Or simply makes you a sign

Don’t look at him

Don’t listen to him

Pass by

Make as if you didn’t see him

As if you didn’t hear him

Pass by hurry past

If you look at him

If you listen to him

He makes you a sign and nothing nobody

Can stop you from going to sit near him

So then he looks at you and smiles

And you suffer atrociously

And the man continues to smile

And you smile the same smile

Exactly

The more you smile the more you suffer

Atrociously

The more you suffer the more you smile

Irremediably

And you stay there

Seated fixed

Smiling on the bench

Children play near you

Passerby pass

Tranquilly

Birds fly off

Leaving one tree for another

And you stay there

On the bench

And you know you know

You never again will play

Like these children

You know you never again will pass

Tranquilly

Like these passerby

Never again fly

Leaving one tree for another

Like these birds.

Jacques Prevert (Paroles, 61)

Prevert için bir sürü şey anlatmak mümkün.. Ben bir cümleyle şöyle özetlerim: II Dünya savaşının karmaşasını yaşamış ve hayattaki her dakikanın anlamını, değerini bilen bir şairdir.

This Love

This love

So violent

So fragile

So tender

So hopeless

This love

As beautiful as the day

And as wretched as the weather

When the weather is wretched

This love

So real

This love

So beautiful

So happy

So joyous

And so ridiculous

Trembling with fear

Like a child in the dark

And so sure of itself

Like a tranquil man in the quiet of the night

This love

Which made others afraid

Which made them gossip

Which drained the colour from their cheeks

This love

Watched for

Because we watched for them

Snared, wounded, trampled, finished, denied, forgotten

Because we snared, wounded, trampled, finished, denied, forgot it

This love

Entire

Still so alive

Shining

This is yours

This is mine

This love

Which is always new

And which never changes

Real like a plant

Quivering like a bird

Warm and as alive as the summer

We can both

Go and come back

We can forget

And fall asleep

And wake up

To suffer old age

Fall asleep again

To dream to death

Awake

To smile and laugh

Young again

Our love endures

Obstinate as a mule

As alive as the desire

As cruel as the memory

As stupid as the regret

As tender as the memory

As cold as marble

As beautiful as the day

As delicate as an infant

It watches us

Smiling

And speaks to us

Without saying a word

And I

I listen to it

Trembling

And I cry

I cry for you

I cry for myself

And I beg you

For yourself

For me

And for all those who love

And who are loved

Yes

I cry to it

For you

For me

And for all the others

I do not know

Stay there

There where you are

There where you were before

Stay there

Don’t move

Don’t go away

We who are loved

We have forgotten you

Do not forget us

We had only you on this earth

Do not let us grow cold

Further and further away every day

It doesn’t matter where

Give us a sign of life

In a nook in the woods

In the forest of memory

Suddenly arise

Take us by the hand

And save us