Wind, Water, Stone

I’ve been a bit scattered with posting the past few weeks–thanks for understanding! Although I’m a few hours late tonight, I thought this poem beautiful and unusual and I look forward to reading more by this poet.

By Octavio Paz

Translated By Eliot Weinberger

for Roger Caillois

Water hollows stone,
wind scatters water,
stone stops the wind.
Water, wind, stone.

Wind carves stone,
stone’s a cup of water,
water escapes and is wind.
Stone, wind, water.

Wind sings in its whirling,
water murmurs going by,
unmoving stone keeps still.
Wind, water, stone.

Each is another and no other:
crossing and vanishing
through their empty names:
water, stone, wind.

You can find this in The Collected Poems of Octavio Paz.