Last Night As I Was Sleeping: A memory

Antonio Machado

It’s the beginning of the month, which means it’s time for a new Memory, the side of Poetry & Process where we come together to memorize poetry. We conduct this practice to engrain words of meaning into our minds, bodies, and beings that serve as a companion during our unique walks through life. While each life is unique, the situations we encounter and the emotions we face have been felt by many who have walked before us. Poems we know deeply can speak what we need to hear at the most opportune times.

All Poetry & Process subscribers have access to all newsletters, including Memory. The thread in the chat function is for the Memory Community, a group of subscribers who financially support Poetry & Process. However, for November, this chat will be open to all subscribers!

May you taste the sweet honey made from old failures…

-Brian

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For November, we turn our attention to a meditative poem exploring inner transformation. For those that are walking into winter, these verses might stew in you for the season in the way hot soup warms and fills you for an evening. For those that are walking into summer, theses stanzas may spur you to a new season of life and action that emerge from your inner depths.

Photo by Simon Kadula

Last Night As I Was Sleeping by Antonio Machado

Spoken:

Text:

Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that a spring was breaking
out in my heart.
I said: Along which secret aqueduct,
Oh water, are you coming to me,
water of a new life
that I have never drunk?

Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.

Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that a fiery sun was giving
light inside my heart.
It was fiery because I felt
warmth as from a hearth,
and sun because it gave light
and brought tears to my eyes.

Last night as I slept,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that it was God I had
here inside my heart.

Video:

This video is only the first two stanzas of the poem, but a beautiful reading that includes some of the original Spanish lines…

The Poet:

If you are interested in Antonio Machado’s biography, check out this summary on Poetry Foundation.

Chat: Open to all subscribers

This is the point in our memorization process where we move the conversation to a Thread in the Chat function in the SubStack app/website. The text of the poem is posted there for all subscribers to read and come back to. Check in today and throughout the week to hear how others in this community are memorizing the poem, the impact it is having on their week, and to discuss the themes in the poem.

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Make this experience your own, choosing how you approach the poem’s content, your memorization process, and connect with us in the chat!

I look forward to our conversation!

Brian

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