The Artist - Toltec Codice de la Real Academia
Lawrence Robinson
Lrobpoet at sonic.net
Tue Jan 28 06:20:23 PST 2025
The Artist
(From the Spanish translation of Toltec Codice de la Real Academia, fol. 315, v. With the help of Elvira Abascal who understood the original Toltec.)
The artist: disciple, abundant, multiple, restless.
The true artist: capable, practicing, skillful;
maintains dialogue with his heart, meets things with his mind.
The true artist: draws out all from his heart,
works with delight, makes things with calm, with sagacity,
works like a true Toltec, composes his
objects, works dexterously, invents;
arranges materials, adorns them, makes them adjust.
The carrion artist: works at random, sneers
at the people,
makes things opaque, brushes across the
surface of the face of things,
works without care, defrauds people, is a
thief.
[Translated from the Spanish by Denise Levertov]
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