la casa::house
La casa
En la mujer, en lo profundo de su cuerpo
se construye la casa,
entre murmullos y silencios.
Hay que acarrear sombras de piedras,
leves andamios,
imitar a las aves.
Especialmente cuando duerme
y en el sueño sonríe
–nivelar hacia el fondo,
no despertarla,
seguir el declive de sus formas,
los movimientos de sus manos.
Sobre las dunas que cubren su sueño
en convulso paisaje,
hay que elevar las altas paredes,
fundar contra la lluvia, contra el viento,
años y años.
Un ademán a veces fija un muro,
de algún susurro nace una ventana,
desmontamos errantes a la puerta
y atamos al caballo.
Adentro de su cuerpo la casa nos espera
y la mesa servida con las palabras limpias
para vivir, tal vez para morir,
ya no sabemos
porque al entrar nunca se sale.
Poemas selectos
bid&co editor, Caracas,Venezuela (2004)
House
In the depths of a woman's body
a house is constructed
amidst murmurs and pauses.
There are shadows of stones to collect,
fragile scaffolds, in this act
of imitating the sparrow.
Above all when she sleeps,
smiling in dreaming—
to survey her completely
don't wake her up;
trace the slope of her hips,
the sweep of her hands.
Along the dunes containing her dream,
those turbulent settings,
high walls are raised
to keep out the rain, and the wind,
year after year.
A gesture sometimes informs a wall;
from a whisper a window is born;
and after wandering we dismount at the door
and tie up the horse.
a house is constructed
amidst murmurs and pauses.
There are shadows of stones to collect,
fragile scaffolds, in this act
of imitating the sparrow.
Above all when she sleeps,
smiling in dreaming—
to survey her completely
don't wake her up;
trace the slope of her hips,
the sweep of her hands.
Along the dunes containing her dream,
those turbulent settings,
high walls are raised
to keep out the rain, and the wind,
year after year.
A gesture sometimes informs a wall;
from a whisper a window is born;
and after wandering we dismount at the door
and tie up the horse.
In the depths of her body the house
awaits, the table fitted with plain
words for living, or for dying perhaps,
no one can say—
nobody who enters ever leaves.
Translated by Kirk Nesset
Alphabet of the world: Selected works
University of Oklahoma Press, USA (2010)
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