Transfiguration. Poem by Michael Walker

Transfiguration.

Ils lui parlaient au sujet de la resurrection, de la loi, de la souffrance a venir.
Ils parlaient comme si pour lui rappeler de son identite et de leur identite. Il ne se ressemblait pas
A ses trois amis qui regardaient d'une courte distance, non pas comme la foule
Au pied de la colline. Un coup de tonnerre gris-vert s'amassa de la mer
Et Dieu parla du tonnerre en disant que c'etait le sien. Ils parlaient
Au sujet de la facon dont le corps, brise ou brule, pourrait vivre encore, cree de nouveau.
Le texte passione du tonnerre seul pourrait l'expliquer. Et ils parlaient
De la douleur et du besoin du jugement et comment il ferait de lui meme
Une loi de la douleur, son esprit et sa lettre tous les deux en sa propre, chair, et puis la casser,
C'est a dire, la transcendre. Ses vetements eclaterent comme le magnesium, tandis qu'ils parlaient.

-'Transfiguration'.Mark Jarman.

Transfiguration.
This is a translation of the poem Transfiguration by Mark Jarman
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Topic(s) of this poem: religion
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
This is obviously a religious poem, with terms like 'resurrection', spirit and letter of the law, 'judgement'. The central character I take to be Jesus. The central idea here is the question of 'how the body, broken or burned, could live again, remade'. I have often thought about this question myself, long before reading this poem. Could the victims of September 11 be created again, body and soul? This is what the gospel promises, eternal life. Some philosophers do not see eternity as a positive thing.
Last Sunday was the Feast of The Ascension of Jesus into heaven, which some people, like David Hume, would say is against the laws of nature and, therefore, impossible.
It is this religious dimension, even conflict, that informs what is the best of Mark Jarman's poetry.Clearly, this what sets him apart from other modern poets.
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
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