You hurry to write
Advice from a French Surrealist
Rene Char/Qalam
You hurry to write
As if afraid you’ll fall behind in life.
If that’s the case, rush back to your roots.
Hurry, hurry, and convey
Your share of wonder,
Kindness and rebellion.
You may indeed struggle to keep pace with life—
Inexpressible life,
The only one you’re willing to merge with,
From which, daily,
Beings and things deny you.
In a merciless battle, you manage,
Now and then,
To snatch a scrap or two.
Outside of it, there’s only decay.
And if, in the midst of hard labor, you meet death,
Embrace it like a sweaty neck
Welcomes the caress
Of a cool handkerchief.i
René Char (1907–1988) was a French poet who began within surrealism and was a participant in the Resistance, a friend of Martin Heidegger, and a recipient of the National Order of the Legion of Honor.