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Issue 6
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Two Poems

  • by Víctor Manuel Pinto
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  • May, 2018

Aprendiz

Quería ser un hombre,
un buen hombre
que entendiera a mi Padre
y su mezcla de tierra
con nuestra carne.

Y con mis hermanos fui obediencia,
serví en los ritos y sacrificios
hasta que llegó a esto…
¿Cómo era que olían sus escamas?

Y estiré mi cuello con una caricia,
y me convertí en una garza,
una hermosa garza
descendiente de las aves del principio.

Y qué desesperación hay en todo este
Padre,
y qué lejos, ahora,
está mi cabeza de mi corazón.

(de Caravana [Caravana], 2010)

Carne

Las nubes son el aviso de la mentira:

Formas de hielo y agua en lo alto
y en el vaso de un hombre
que mira al suelo
y esas formas que busca arriba
y lo que era de verdad dentro de él se deshace.

Nube enviada rodando por el viento,
eres ligera con los pinos de la montaña,
y nunca la misma: nube tendida.

El nombre que le di a tus formas
vino a mi ojo izquierdo,
es bueno,
lo supe cuando me tapé
la mitad de la cara con tu mano.

-No debo mirar las nubes
-No debo mirar las nubes

Nada sostiene
eso que parece humo.

(de Quieto  [Todavía], 2014)

Traducido por Arthur Dixon

  • Víctor Manuel Pinto

Víctor Manuel Pinto (Valencia, 1982) is a poet, editor, cultural manager, and university professor. He earned a master’s in Venezuelan Literature and a doctorate in Cultural Studies from the Universidad de Carabobo. He directs the journal Poesía, published from the same university, and he leads workshops on theory and poetry. His most recent book is titled Quieto [Still] (2014). His work has been translated to English, German, and Italian.

  • Arthur Malcolm Dixon
headshotarthurdixoncroppededited1

Photo: Sydne Gray

Arthur Malcolm Dixon is co-founder, lead translator, and Managing Editor of Latin American Literature Today. His book-length translations include the novels Immigration: The Contest by Carlos Gámez Pérez and There Are Not So Many Stars by Isaí Moreno, both from Katakana Editores, and the poetry collections Intensive Care by Arturo Gutiérrez Plaza and Wild West by Alejandro Castro, both from Alliteration Publishing. He works as a community interpreter in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where from 2020 to 2023 he was a Tulsa Artist Fellow.

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