Sleeplessness. Homer. The sails tight.
I have the catalogue of ships half read:
That file of cranes, long fledgling line that spread
And lifted once over Hellas, taking flight.

Like a wedge of cranes into an alien place-
The gods’ spume foaming in the princes’ hair-
Where do you sail? If Helen were not there
What would Troy matter, men of Achaean race?

The sea, and Homer-it’s love that moves all things.
To whom should I listen? Homer falls silent now
And the black sea surges toward my pillow
Like a loud declaimer, heavily thundering.

-Osip Mandelstam, translated by Robert Tracy

Berklee’s poetry Walk was laid in October 2003 along Edison Street between Shattuck and Milvia Streets. The route includes 128 metal plates with excerpts from songs, each of which is related in one way or another to the city of Berkeley.

The plaque features a poem by the Jewish-Russian poet who was born in Poland, Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938) who stood out in his opposition to the Soviet regime. The poem was translated by Professor Robert Tracy who taught at the University of Berkeley.