[nukkad] If for an instant

[adheer <>]

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We understand death for the first time when he puts his hand upon one 
whom we love. -Madame De Stael, writer (1766-1817)
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If for an instant God were to forget that I am a rag
doll and gifted me with a piece of life, possibly I
wouldn't say all that I think, but rather I
would think of all that I say. I would value things,
not for their worth but for what they mean. I would
sleep little, dream more, understanding that
for each minute we close our eyes we lose sixty
seconds of light.
I would walk when others hold back, I would wake when
others sleep.  I would listen when others talk, and
how I would enjoy a good chocolate ice cream!
If God were to give me a piece of life, I would dress
simply, throw myself face first into the sun, baring
not only my body but also my soul.


My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hate on
ice, and wait for the sun to show. Over the stars I
would paint with a Van Gogh dream a Benedetti
poem, and a Serrat song would be the serenade I'd
offer to the moon. With my tears I would water roses,
to feel the pain of their thorns, 
and the red kiss of their petals...

My God, if I had a piece of life... I wouldn't let a
single day pass without telling the people I love that
I love them. I would convince each woman
and each man that they are my favorites, and I would
live in love with love.


I would show men how very wrong they are to think that
they cease to be in love when they grow old, not
knowing that they grow old when they cease to
be in love! To a child I shall give wings, but I shall
let him learn to fly on his own. I would teach the old
that death does not come with old age,
but with forgetting.

So much have I learned from you, oh men...


I have learned that everyone wants to live on the peak
of the mountain,without knowing that real happiness is
in how it is scaled. I have learned that when a
newborn child squeezes for the first time with his
tiny fist his father's finger, he has him trapped
forever. I have learned that a man has
the right to look down on another only when he has to
help the other get to his feet. From you I have
learned so many things, but in truth they won't
be of much use, for when I keep them within this suit,
unhappily shall I be dying.


                   GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ
                   1982 Nobel Laureate in Literature
Mr. Marquez retired upon learning he had cancer; he
wrote this letter as a farewell to his friends. It was
translated from his native tongue. His style of
writing was considered "magical realism". 

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