A ramble with a book

Abstract

Gorg Borg (1946-) is a modem Maltese poet whose lyrics are characterised by brevity and simplicity. He has published several collections of poems between 1967 and 2005, and Mill-Blat lnsawwar Halma (Shaping a Dream from Rocks) is his latest anthology of poetry written between 1992 and 2004. In this last collection, Borg shows that "simple" can be powerful, effective, and convincing. But we must understand that "simple" in Borg means more than just plain and sincere: it is an evangelical simplicity that he advocates in his poetry. For Borg is a member of a Catholic society of lay people whose task is to see to the spiritual formation of children and he knows his gospel very well- a fact that bears on his poetic inspiration. There is often in his poetry the vision of childhood as a state of innocence embellished by a sense of freedom. He depicts a world of children playing happily in spring time, a picture that blends into the passing of years as humans try to suspend time in childhood ("Fii-Girna tai-Qortin", In the Hut on Rocky Ground}. And the hut the children find on rocky ground becomes the metaphor that captures the essence of childhood. On another occasion, memories download a cosy home with the mother reading stories to her small children on wintry nights before lanterns are extinguished and everyone snuggles in a warm comfortable bed ("Lampi", Lanterns). Childhood requires protection and security, and Borg often yearns for both. [excerpt]