Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1899, Borges continues to be one of Latin America’s greatest authors. His poems and work of fiction have no equal, and is undoubtedly a giant in literature.
Sometimes we hear in the IT world: code is poetry. Although code can be sometimes a work of art, it is not, and can never approach poetry. Poetry reaches the heart, the spirit, it goes beyond any other artistic work. Only music can approach it.
Below one of his poems, first in English and then the original in Spanish. If you like what you read, pick any book from him, you won’t be disappointed. For me his poems are like the cool breeze of the ocean on my soul.
The Just
by Jorge Luis BorgesA man who cultivates his garden, as Voltaire wished.
He who is grateful that on earth we have music.
He who takes pleasure in tracing an etymology.
Two workmen playing, in a café in the South, a silent game of chess.
The potter, who imagines a color and a form.
The typographer who sets this page well, though it may not please him.
A woman and a man, who read the last tercets of a certain canto.
He who strokes a sleeping animal.
He who justifies, or wishes to, a wrong done to him.
He who is grateful that on earth we got one Stevenson.
He who prefers others to be right.
These people, that we ignore, are saving the world.Los Justos
Un hombre que cultiva un jardín, como quería Voltaire.
El que agradece que en la tierra haya música.
El que descubre con placer una etimología.
Dos empleados que en un café del Sur juegan un silencioso ajedrez.
El ceramista que premedita un color y una forma.
Un tipógrafo que compone bien esta página, que tal vez no le agrada
Una mujer y un hombre que leen los tercetos finales de cierto canto.
El que acaricia a un animal dormido.
El que justifica o quiere justificar un mal que le han hecho.
El que agradece que en la tierra haya Stevenson.
El que prefiere que los otros tengan razón.
Esas personas, que se ignoran, están salvando el mundo
