Let him not unveil her with his eye
before he washes it in the light
of morning In the snow of a distant mountain
In a gentle hill of herbs
In the stream of cantatas
of Johann Sebastian
Bach
Let him not put his hand on her
before he cleanses it of violence From blood
Spilled Assented to Before he engraves it
with tenderness Good deeds
With the toil of laboring in earth the mother
With playing a harpsichord or ocarina
Let him not bring his lips close to her
before he rinses off the lie
Before he drinks from the source of live water
Before he burns them pure in live fire
Before he sanctifies them in the tabernaculum
of grace and sweetness
A poem by Aleksander Wat (1900-1967) written for his wife Ola on the 40th anniversary of their wedding, translated from the Polish by Czesław Miłosz i Leonard Nathan. Set to the music of Komm süßer Tod by Johann Sebastian Bach.To celebrate Ann’s 50th birthday printed in 50 numbered and signed copies from polymer plates on Butan Bleached White Tsharsho paper. Includes a cd with the recording of the poem.
$50 + S&H
trade version on standard paper, no cd, $5 + S&H
