SECTION FIFTEEN
POETRY PAGE TWO
sm
COLUMN
SEVENTY-FIVE, SEPTEMBER 1, 2002
(Copyright © 2002 Al Aronowitz
(Photo by Carlos Arturo Puerta)
[From Colombia's celebrated poet, Raúl Henao of Medellin, here's another poem in Spanish, accompanied by its English translation, both from Raúl's La vida a la carta or Life a la carte.]
Ah,
mi rostro estúpido como la maleza
Prefiero
el chirrido del grillo al canto
de los pájaros
la
eternidad al tiempo.
Los
armarios se desarman a mi paso
Un muerto de risa se sienta cada noche
a mi mes.
El
fantasma de la libertad me visita
al amanecer
golpea
con sus nudillos los cristales
de mi sueño.
Las
manos de la ausente tan pálidas bajo
la almohada.
Leo
los periódicos del domingo (esto sin
comentarios)
¡Qué
alegre! moriré descorchado como
una botella de champaña ##
* * *
Oh,
my face is as stupid as undergrowth
I
prefer the chirping of crickets to
the song of birds
Eternity
to time
Wardrobes
fall to pieces as I pass
Each night a man that died laughing
Sits at my table
The
phantom of liberty visits me at dawn
I
knock at the windows of my dreams
Absent
hands seem pale under the pillow
I
read the sunday papers (no comment)
What
happiness! I shall die being
uncorked
Like a bottle of champagne
(Translated by Philip West) ##
* * *
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