Leer & Soltar
there’s a corner in the desert between two dunes
named “leer & soltar”
i marked it with a pink stake the paint from IKEA
when I am lost i return:
“leer & soltar”
Guitarrita
Papá
i miss your guitarrita
Papá yes
I’m fine
but I miss Chile
your guitarrita more than anything
going out to lunch on avenida Brasil
like when we went to the vegan restaurant and we met the cousin
of one of your friends from high school
walking barefoot through the boulevard waiting for you en Santa Ana
eyes closed
listening to your guitarrita from the second floor where Nuri lived
and I know she listens too
Ziad
ángel árabe
emerging from the Nile
unrestrained
like the screams of the teapot
between motorcycles
camels
blindmen
pedestrians
hijabis
horses
donkeys
pedestrians
trucks
bicycles
fishermen
calvary men
pedestrians
Cairo
i am sitting
trying to pray to God
when an old woman and man appear the
old woman covered in black
had blue eyes like those from Barraco
the old man wore a gray suit with a red tie like
the way I imagine Roberto
they sat on the bench in front of mine the
old woman stopped to light a candle the
old man stayed put
I wanted to cry to the seas
but I wouldn’t allow it so I left
like a ghost that has never seen
a shadow at the desk
Luto
Taytay, I want to sit and cry in
the library
with the aroma of old books
and damp wood
Taytay, I want to curl up in
front of the Bosca feel my
pathetic tears fall to my
legs
like needles
I want to sit on the stoop a
left-handed step
hard and icy
like the tile in the hallway, Taytay
pero te moriste y
te lo llevaste tan
rápidamente los
libros
el olor el
fuego
Translated by Julián David Bañuelos
From Tambaleos (Grupo Planeta, 2020)
