A woman on Wednesday … Still very wise!

When I began writing about women, each week I labeled them wise it had a certain ring especially on a Wednesday. I have for a while dropped the wise bit; simply because I am not able to judge such a fine attribute; I am far from wise; and will never gain such a title.  

One lady I would like to honour this week is a previous Wise Woman;  I enjoyed writing about her and while sorting out some books in my daughter’s bedroom I came across a lovely translation of Violeta Parra’s Hymn to life

Violeta Parra was born in Chile 1904.  A folklorist and poet;she is without doubt one of the most resonant Latin American figures and one of the most important in Chilean popular culture.  She also distinguished herself as a popular singer and author of lyrical works; among them Gracia al la vida (Hymn to life)  

With the passing of time, Violeta Parra is being recognised for her creativity in the field of lyric. She died in 1967.

I thank life for so many gifts,

for my mind’s windows, which I open

see do clearly, black and white,

the starred depths of the sky

and the man I love, lost in the crowd

I thank life for so many gifts,

for my hearing that night and day

and all round records crickets,

canaries, hammers, turbines, barking,

squalls and my sweetheart’s tender voice.

I thank life for many gifts,

for sounds, the alphabet, and

the words I think and speak –

mother, friend, brother, and light

shining on the path of my lover’s soul.

I thank life for so many gifts,

for the tread of tired feet

wandering through cities and puddles,

beaches and deserts, mountains and plains.

your house, your street, and your garden.

I thank life  for so many gifts,

for my heart which shakes its frame

as I see the fruits of the human brain,

and I face good so far from evil,

and I look into your deep clear eyes.

I thank life for so many gifts,

for laughter and tears, telling me

what luck and what fortune,

the two elements of my song

and your song – the same song,

and everyone’s song – my own.

I thank life for so many gifts.

The nature-loving indigenous people of South America were close to the heart of the Chilean poet and singer Violeta Parra. This Quechua Indian  woman lives in what is now Peru but is descended from the Incas who inhabited the length of the Andes from Colombia in the north to Chile in the south.