Robert Desnos (1900-1945)

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Written by Nurel Javissyarqi
Translated by Agus B. Harianto

SAJAK TERAKHIR
Robert Desnos

Begitu keras kau kumimpikan
Begitu banyak aku berjalan, begitu rupa bicara
Begitu kucinta bayang-bayangmu
Hingga bagiku dirimu tiada lagi tersisa
Tinggallah bagiku jadi bayang-bayang di antara bayang-bayang
Jadi seratus kali lebih bayang-bayang dari bayang-bayang
Jadi bayang-bayang yang datang dan datang berulang-ulang
Dalam hidupmu yang bersinarkan matahari.


THE LAST POEM
Robert Desnos

I dreamed of you so hard
I walked so much, so much talk
How much I loved your shadow
Up to me you are no longer remained
Stay for me to be the shadow among the shadow
Be more than hundred times the shadows of the shadows
To be the departure shadows again and again
In your life which is shined by sunlight.

(Took from the book Sajak-Sajak Prancis Dalam Dua Bahasa (Bilingual Modern Poems of France, arranged by Kardjo Wing, edition II, Pustaka Jaya, 1975, which in retranslation into English would be more or less like above).

Robert Desnos (July 4, 1900 – June 8, 1945), French poet who has important role in surrealistic movement in his era. He was born in Paris, the son of the café businessman, a newspaper columnist of Paris literary soir.
His poems first appeared in the media in 1917 on La Tribune des Jeunes, 1919, at the avant-garde review and Le Ciri d’ union. In 1922, published his first book, a collection of surrealistic aphorisms entitled Rrose Selavy.

In 1919, he met Benjamin Péret whom introduced him to a community of Dada Paris and André Breton. Together with Louis Aragon, Paul Éluard he developed the vanguard of surrealism literary.

In 1926, he wrote The Night of Loveless Nights; lyric poetry in the classical quatrains. He fell in love with the singer Yvonne George, and he dedicated several poetries to her and surrealist novel La liberté ou l’amour!

He wrote articles about Modern Parable, Avant-garde Cinema (1929), Pygmalion, Sphinx (1930). He has career in radio in 1932, the event dedicated for Fantomas. And during that time he met Picasso, Hemingway, Artaud, John Dos Passos.

He wrote for the magazine of Literature, La Révolution surréaliste and Variétés. Published three novels, Deuil pour deuil (1924), La Liberté ou l’amour! (1927), Le vin est tire (1943); plays La Place De La ‘Etoile, (1928; revised at 1944) movie scripts, L’ Etoile de mer (1928) directed by Man Ray.

In the World War II, he was an active member of the French Resistance with various pseudonyms; the Gestapo arrested him February 22, 1944. Firstly, he was deported to concentration camps of Nazi in Auschwitz Poland, Buchenwald, Germany Flossenburg, finally Terezín, Czechoslovakia occupied territories at 1945, where Desnos died (in “Malá pevnost” as political prisoners).

He married Youki Desnos, which before was Badoud Lucie, given nickname Youki which means snow by his lover Tsuguharu Foujita, before she left her husband for Desnos. He striped several poems to her, which famously entitle Letter to Youki, written after the arresting. He was buried in Montparnasse, Paris. (Summary from / / en.wikipedia.org /).
***

Desnos was thrown into a Nazi concentration camp for his writing style was danger, and changed the name so many times similar shade influenced by the light of resistance.

Or with the shadow he wanted to escape from the bonds of consciousness that was so rush in the battle.

In other words, surrealist logic could be survived from the chaos of political intrigue, slanderous and hatred among each other.

His reason was creating in the reddish conditions (mature) to observe like uncaught flame, but determined the around temperature.

What piled in chaos could be straighten by trick admirable to the feeling and awaken the mind that is tough among the attacking storm of life drummed the humanity in.

The school of surrealist brought the reality into the stage which was unbreakable by the shock of the departure of outguessed dreams.

In sleep or half sleep, the dialogue uses senses or even non of it, combined into a work to break through the eternity which is still covering by the fog of life.

It is not concocting that the appearance left from the deepest basis of unification of reason- heart and mind-feeling, his character always colors the flared up changes in every time.

I
I would like to begin to interpret Desnos poetry every two lines, hopefully it won’t make anyone has heart feeling: hard life filled with real oddity, the covered one by weaving of string is elusive.

Only estimation reached the reality, though got into the destination still have anomaly. How hard the struggle towards a dream which is at the end tired then take a rest and scatterbrained, reached the efforts to get existence.

The grace of understanding is still haunted by other feelings of searching, how the streets go through up and down and swing-up, the fossilized legs is still tempted by surpassed fantasy.

Chased after the echoing sound to the cliffs could not be caught by the body. That’s becoming, take the experience of life one by one with the form was still talking but had covered by dullness, pettiness also mistaken.

Desnos tried to lift the stone highly expecting on the answer of the body also answer of passersby. In the depths he shouldered the power that sometimes vanished and sometimes emerged.

Consciousness and imagination be far to the limits of hope, hesitation infiltrated slowly, doubt would be true enemy one day for the one who couldn’t cut off the bitter (sadness) of separation.

II
Although as one of Picasso friends his observation is still surrealist, not Cubism where the poems transform to sculpture of words determining rhyme of the meaning.

The soul of spiritual poetic was he searched, the color floated as the shadow of clouds following the passion of the spirit of ideas.

Love to a woman is loyalty of a path of searching the personality, melting the self till nothing left. It is not the seriousness any more but resignation hung intimately to procession of sacrificing.

The shadows as the fruit of materiality showered by the light and remains alive even though not taken care of, its soft pulsation was on the air blowing. Hence, besides the light, desire determines to haunt or to focus onto tranquility.

Another place of the shadow means desired imaginations, the closeness of love allows to flow together that was expected to approach itself, in the tender struggle of the souls spell for manifestation.

Resembling like the initial meeting of luck was going on. Desnos swap bodies with images of insight and understanding so he knows what is deserved to reach to preserve the values.

III
Desnos incarnates to be the movement, provisions of attitudes clarifying ideology on the way of overflowing view of friends or even enemies. Rumors increased on acquisition propagated polemic.

Live in the shadows of value of values, the books were orderly arranged in the library of human reason and his mind was guerrilla in the arena of changes.

He developed the unity of surrealist movement, rebelled to profane reason and erase the impressions of the mental of corruption with the whole souls as such a combination of twilight colors or even reddish dawn.

Perhaps these poems were out of captured, thrown into the jail and locked down by the ages and its liberty time is indeterminate.

The isolated body affected to the shadow of eternity equally with the dignity passionate mind and the fire of revolution drifted by the wind of surpassed reality and dreams.

The struggle of totally wishes as such the passion of the heart determines the value still remains, like the shadows fragranced on the presence of night embracing warmly.

And understanding of thousands times struggling hit by mature reality, stabbed hard to dwell the conviction.

IV
His presence was like the shadow of certitude, when he was still using the sense and eyes.

His form followed object or strong intention stagnated and monumental, since from the cluster of understanding changed over by the pioneer, or could be both are influenced.

If took the shortcuts, Desnos melted himself in the power of the sun, the whole supported the shadow on the earth.

This is the meaning behind the seriousness to embrace the shadows of making a wish incarnated to be image and then supported the meaning of the presence of light.

Such is my interpretation, if there is lewar (off the track) I hope it was not prudery, but the effort to embrace the understanding so there won’t be any mistaken to make observations, it would be great if it could give the freshness to live the life.