Continuing my walks with poets series of posts, here’s an interesting one by Beckett.
on all that strand
Samuel Beckett
at end of day
steps sole sound
long sole sound
until unbidden stay
then no sound
on all that strand
long no sound
until unbidden go
steps sole sound
long sole sound
on all that strand
at end of day
A lonely stroller keeps walking around and around. The alliterations and repetitions create a hypnotic experience that takes us from merely reading to feeling this walk. It’s world-weary, heavy and keeps repeating. It’s trance-like. It has its melody that you hear and even more so when you read it aloud. Amazing and I think challenging to translate.
There’s been a song set to this poem. I’ve found it by accident, so not sure if there’s more music with this poem.
Margot Meanders 