Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Carlos Obregón

Deeply resounds the solitude of the valley

                                               (Deyá, August)



Deeply resounds the solitude of the valley
peopled by the birds in their roving flight.
The soil shimmers under the inclement sun
that awakens in the stone a red and dry glow.
The tower of the church vigilantly dominates
the sea and the hills. In the August weariness
water slides down bathing with idleness
the riverbed of winter, while old little bells
call, in the olive groves, some absent shepherd.
Through the bones ascends the warmth of the earth,
fire of slow tongues and arcane questions
that are lighted in the lips. There is nothing under the sky
only hollowness burnt by the light of summer.
The wait is in the earth, the flesh is in the century.

Toward the living rocks in the hills in the background
my solitude withdraws into itself while my eyes burn
in a parched looking. The warmth of a few hours
remains in my hands. Plunged in its yearning
flows time in the Clot fleeing with depth
as far as the threshold of the soul. The eye looks and prays.
Maybe the blind man has died in the house by the river
and his dog, in the orchard, smells of God without knowing it.

Deeply resounds the solitude of the valley

                                                 (Deyá, Agosto)



Hondamente resuena la soledad del valle
poblada por las aves en su vuelo errabundo.
El sol reverbera bajo un sol inclemente
que despierta en las piedras un fulgor rojo y seco.
La torre de la iglesia domina vigilante
el mar y las colinas. En el hastío de agosto
el agua se desliza bañando con desidia
el cauce del invierno, mientras viejas esquilas
llaman, entre olivares, algún pastor ausente.
Por los huesos asciende el calor de la tierra,
fuego de lentas lenguas y de arcanas preguntas
que en los labios se encienden. No hay nada bajo el cielo,
sólo oquedad quemada por la luz del estío.
La espera está en la tierra, la carne está en el siglo.

Hacia las rocas vivas de los cerros del fondo
mi soledad se adentra mientras arden los ojos
en un mirar sediento. Calor de pocas horas
me queda entre las manos. Sumido en su añoranza,
por el Clot baja el tiempo huyendo con hondura
hasta el umbral del alma. El ojo mira y reza.
Quizás el ciego muere en la casa del río
y su perro, en el huerto, huele a Dios sin saberlo.
Close

Deeply resounds the solitude of the valley

                                               (Deyá, August)



Deeply resounds the solitude of the valley
peopled by the birds in their roving flight.
The soil shimmers under the inclement sun
that awakens in the stone a red and dry glow.
The tower of the church vigilantly dominates
the sea and the hills. In the August weariness
water slides down bathing with idleness
the riverbed of winter, while old little bells
call, in the olive groves, some absent shepherd.
Through the bones ascends the warmth of the earth,
fire of slow tongues and arcane questions
that are lighted in the lips. There is nothing under the sky
only hollowness burnt by the light of summer.
The wait is in the earth, the flesh is in the century.

Toward the living rocks in the hills in the background
my solitude withdraws into itself while my eyes burn
in a parched looking. The warmth of a few hours
remains in my hands. Plunged in its yearning
flows time in the Clot fleeing with depth
as far as the threshold of the soul. The eye looks and prays.
Maybe the blind man has died in the house by the river
and his dog, in the orchard, smells of God without knowing it.

Deeply resounds the solitude of the valley

                                               (Deyá, August)



Deeply resounds the solitude of the valley
peopled by the birds in their roving flight.
The soil shimmers under the inclement sun
that awakens in the stone a red and dry glow.
The tower of the church vigilantly dominates
the sea and the hills. In the August weariness
water slides down bathing with idleness
the riverbed of winter, while old little bells
call, in the olive groves, some absent shepherd.
Through the bones ascends the warmth of the earth,
fire of slow tongues and arcane questions
that are lighted in the lips. There is nothing under the sky
only hollowness burnt by the light of summer.
The wait is in the earth, the flesh is in the century.

Toward the living rocks in the hills in the background
my solitude withdraws into itself while my eyes burn
in a parched looking. The warmth of a few hours
remains in my hands. Plunged in its yearning
flows time in the Clot fleeing with depth
as far as the threshold of the soul. The eye looks and prays.
Maybe the blind man has died in the house by the river
and his dog, in the orchard, smells of God without knowing it.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère