Gabriel Garcia Marquez

[Calaman, William]

You may want to check this out.
 http://www.reforma.com/cultura/articulo/011321/


-----Original Message-----
From: s~Z [mailto:keith at pfmentum.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2000 9:17 AM
To: Pynchlist
Subject: Fw: Gabriel Garcia Marquez


>Gabriel Garcia Marquez* has retired from public life due to
> > health reasons: cancer of the lymph nodes. It seems that it is
> > getting worse. He has sent this farewell letter to his friends,
> > which has been translated and posted on the Internet. Please
> > read and forward to any who might enjoy it. This is possibly,
> > sadly, one of the last gifts to humanity from a true master.
> > This short text, written by one of the most brilliant Latin
> > Americans in recent times, is truly moving.
> > _______________
> > If for an instant God were to forget that I am 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 suitcase, unhappily
> > shall I be dying.
> >
> > GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ
> >
>
>

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