"Between What I See and What I Say"

"Between What I See and What I Say" 
by Octavio Paz

for Roman Jakobson

                              1

Between what I see and what I say,

between what I say and what I keep silent,
between what I keep silent and what I dream,
between what I dream and what I forget:
poetry.
      It slips
between yes and no,
            says
what I keep silent,
             keeps silent
what I say,
          dreams
what I forget,
            It is not speech:
it is an act.
          It is an act
of speech.
          Poetry
speaks and listens:
               it is real.
And as soon as I say
                    it is real,
it vanishes.
            is it then more real?

                            2
Tangible idea,
                    intangible
word:
         poetry
comes and goes
               between what is
and what is not.
               It weaves
and unweaves reflections.
                           Poetry
scatters eyes on a page,
scatters words on our eyes.
Eyes speak,
              words look,
looks think.
               To hear
thoughts,
            see
what we say,
                  touch
the body of an idea.
                          Eyes close,
the words open.