Is counting bodies the same
as counting rocks at night?
The focused gesture of counting
—piece by piece—
is it the same?
Is it the same
lantern light
that illuminates the body and the rock?
And if they’re thrown in the water,
do they sink the same?
And if one of the bodies does not appear,
is it the same absence that a rock leaves
when it’s not in its place?
Translated by Juan Afanador
Juan Afanador (Bogotá, Colombia, 1992) studied Anthropology with an emphasis on Creative Writing at the Universidad de los Andes. Some of his poems have been published in REC (the magazine of the students of Arts and Humanities of the Universidad de los Andes), Cabeza de gato, La raíz invertida, and Literariedad, as well as in Conexos magazine. He is founder, director, and member of the editorial board of the virtual poetry magazine Otro páramo.
In 2016, the #NoDAPL movement in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline, spearheaded by members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, inspired a shift in perceptions of indigenous presence in…
I’ve never liked dogs. My nose twinges from allergies and my chest with repulsion—maybe guilt—if I get close to them. Despite this, sometimes I take one home with me. …
La Carnada (Seix Barral, 2020), the ninth novel by Ernesto Carrión (Guayaquil, 1977), was released at the end of last year, during the worsening of the pandemic. It’s a sign:…
