It is a pleasure to share this poem (translated from catalan language to English by myself) from my poetry book "El somrís trist de Sylvia Plath - Sylvia Plath's sad smile".
This poem, called "El crit - The shout" was inspired by the sentencing Rosenberg couple to the electric chair in June, 1953. This fact caused a very strong impact in Sylvia's mindset. This poem is about capturing those feelings.
THE SHOUT
(June 19, 1953)
(June 19, 1953)
"There are no more than a million carpenters
makinge coffins without a cross. "
Federico García Lorca
A dark light burns the fields of memory.
Some God will forget the weight of the blood
and the shadow of the hangman
Some God will forget the weight of the blood
and the shadow of the hangman
will dominate the silent city.
Night closes the gates of mercy,
erases the verses of the girl contemplating
—from a Barbizon window,
with insomnia—
the fire of a red moon.
The blindness of the convicts illuminates the room
of the strange shared loneliness.
A shout to Rome breaks the ropes
of the glass bell.
Two electric shouts
dance the waltz of death
sitting in a chair.
A dark light burns the blood.
The flowers of the morning watch over death,
they smell like ash.
Night closes the gates of mercy,
erases the verses of the girl contemplating
—from a Barbizon window,
with insomnia—
the fire of a red moon.
The blindness of the convicts illuminates the room
of the strange shared loneliness.
A shout to Rome breaks the ropes
of the glass bell.
Two electric shouts
dance the waltz of death
sitting in a chair.
A dark light burns the blood.
The flowers of the morning watch over death,
they smell like ash.
