Nothing Lost in Translation

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Words, as powerful as they are,  lack something when translated. Earlier this week there was a discussion at d’Verse Poetry Pub about the difficulty in translating poetry from one language to another. To me, it is almost impossible to translate accurately even when getting all the words correct. In some instances there are no words to translate an expression of a given language. When it comes to nature…

Nothing is Lost in Translation

They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words!”

Which shows that only words

    can be lost in translation

But the best poetry of all is nature in full array

A sunset //a mountain vista // a flower in bloom

In the poetry of God // nothing is lost in translation

 

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Trip to the beach 7-4-10 015

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

23 thoughts on “Nothing Lost in Translation”

  2. Lovely photos. I love the one of snakes — greatly under-celebrated (or over-maligned?) creatures in my view. I’m a student of translation, particularly of poetry. I don’t claim to be good at it, but I subscribe to the old saw that “it can’t, and must, be done.” Things can be “lost” in translation undoubtedly, but surely sometimes things can be “gained” as well, perhaps? It’s a fascinating moving target and gives me much cause for reflection. I enjoyed your post!

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  5. Beautiful images Dwight and I agree that something is usually lost in translation due to the subtleties and cultural heritage of one language that cannot be fully replicated in another. Even within the same language, there can be so many different interpretations of a single poem. I love your idea that Nature in full array is the best poetry of all 🙂

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