December 28
I carry a conflict within me: one part wants to desire, the other warns. Only those who listen in on themselves, in honest dialogue, see through to who it is that speaks within them.
Secretum (freely rendered)
At the Railing
I carry a conflict within me: one part wants to desire, the other warns. Only those who listen in on themselves, in honest dialogue, see through to who it is that speaks within them.
Eveline sat at the window. For years she had dusted the familiar objects without wondering where the dust kept coming from. Would she now never see them again? On her lap lay two letters: one for her brother, one for her father. She meant to leave Dublin with Frank and live in Buenos Aires.
At home she handed over her wages, kept house and feared her father's threats. Yet just now she remembered how, once when she was ill, he had read her a story and made toast. From outside came the music of a barrel organ. She thought of her dying mother and of her promise to keep the home together as long as she could. But her mother's life, the sacrifices, her end – Eveline sprang up. She had to get away. She wanted to live.
At the harbour Frank held her hand. The ship whistled. She felt sick; she prayed to know what her duty was. When Frank tried to draw her along, she gripped the iron railing. He went through the barrier and called to her. Her hands would not let go. She looked at him without any sign of farewell.
