The Bloody Sonnets #18

Adaptation of Krvavé sonety.

Welcome to my series of adapting Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav’s The Bloody Sonnets into free-verse. This is the eighteenth of thirty-two sonnets.

Following the adaptation, I invite you to read some reflections on the poem.

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And when this hellish rage 
     descends back to the deep,
     will there really be a truce?
True peace like harmony from heaven?
If hatred extinguishes itself —
     if from this trap, 
          a shelter can be found,

will truth sit at the table of the ages
     with justice, and bread, 
          for all?
Will we still forge 
     swords and captive's chains?
Will work have honor 
     and the face of man?

This bath of blood, 
     can it purify us?
Can mercy melt 
     the steel of selfishness?
Perhaps pride will wither 
     from this humiliation and
     let the trinity of love shine?
Or is it woe, woe 
     to the vanquished?
And if revenge is won, woe —
     to the victors?

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The original is in the Slovak language, which was originally written in 1914:

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— A keď sa toto peklo vyvzteká,
či ozaj nastúpi zmier, pokoj neba?
Nenávisť ovládze-li sama seba,
z nástrahy zrodí-li sa bezpeka

a pravda sadne za stôl odveká?
Bude-li právo všetkých právom? chleba
hoj všetkým? Nebude pút? zbraní treba?
Česť bude práci, tvári človeka?

Ten kúpeľ krvi splynie očistením?
Milosrdenstva znežnie obrazom
sebeckosť? pýcha skrotne pokorením?
trojica lásky svitne príkazom…?
Alebo beda, beda — premoženým?
a menom pomsty beda — víťazom?

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Reflections

Is it naive of POH to ask these questions?

For example this last line:

I think antiwar positions get written off as naive and utopian, but what is the cost of pursuing revenge? Is this not the entire plot of The Count of Monte Cristo? It’s been a while, but I don’t think revenge satisfied the Count and it caused more harm along the way. Not only to himself but to others as well.

I explored this theme in this poem last October:

And to POH’s question, Will we still forge swords and captive's chains? I can only imagine the look of disappointment and sorrow, like that of a grandfather in despair, when someone tells him the answer.

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Here’s the link to the previous sonnet.

The entire collection can be found here as well.