Today is October 4, feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Italian saint too animal pattern. So I remember him with a fragment of his most famous work, Canticle of the Creatures. And I also remember those of others 4 writers named the same: Francisco Umbral, Francisca Aguirre, Francesco Petrarca and Francis Scott Fiztgerald.
Canticle of the Creatures - Francis of Assisi
Most high and omnipotent good Lord,
yours are the praises, the glory and the honor and all blessings.
To you alone, Most High, they suit you
and no man is worthy of naming you.
Praised be you, my Lord, in all your creatures,
especially in brother sun,
for whom you give us the day and illuminate us.
And it is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
of you, Most High, carries significance.
Praised be you, my Lord, through sister moon and stars,
in heaven you made them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be you, my Lord, through brother wind
and through the air and the cloud and the serene sky and all the weather,
through all of them you give sustenance to your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Water,
which is very humble, precious and chaste.
Praised be you, my Lord, through brother fire,
by which you light up the night,
and it is beautiful and cheerful and vigorous and strong.
Deadly and pink - Francisco Umbral
I only found one truth in life, son, and it was you. I only found one truth in life and I have lost it. I live from crying to you at night with tears that burn the darkness. Little blond soldier who ruled the world, I lost you forever. Your eyes curdled the blue of the sky. Your hair gilded the quality of the day. What remains after you, son, is a fluctuating universe, without consistency, as they say Jupiter is, a nauseating vagueness of summers and winters, a promiscuity of sun and sex, of time and death, through all of which I wander only because I do not know the gesture to do to die. If not, he would make that gesture and nothing else.
How stupid the fullness of the day. Who is this blue sky fooling, this noon with laughter?
Exception witness - Francisca Aguirre
A sea, a sea is what I need.
A sea and nothing else, nothing else.
The rest is small, insufficient, poor.
A sea, a sea is what I need.
Not a mountain, a river, a sky.
No, nothing nothing,
only a sea.
I don't want flowers, hands either,
not a heart to comfort me.
I don't want a heart
in exchange for another heart.
I don't want them to talk to me about love
in exchange for love.
Sonnet to Laura - Francesco Petrarca
I cannot find peace nor can I make war,
and I burn and I am ice; and I fear and all postponement;
and I fly over the sky and lie on the ground;
and nothing squeezed and everyone hugged.
Whoever keeps me in prison, neither opens nor closes,
neither holds me back nor looses my snare;
and it does not kill me, love, nor does it unravel me,
neither loves me nor does it take away my pregnancy.
I see without eyes and without tongue I cry;
and I ask for help and look longing;
I love others and I feel hated for myself.
Crying I scream and the pain I transit;
death and life give me equal wakefulness;
For you I am, Lady, in this state.
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
When I was younger and more vulnerable, my father gave me advice that I haven't stopped thinking about since.
"Whenever you feel like criticizing someone," he said, "remember that not everyone has been given as much facilities as you."
That was the only thing he said, but since we have always told each other everything without giving up our discretion, I understood that his phrase had a much broader meaning. The result is that I tend not to judge anyone, a habit that has made me associate with many interesting people and has also made me the victim of quite a few inveterate bullshit.