Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Juan Manuel Roca

A Visit from No One

The rattle of the window
With the August winds
Is the music of No One.
When the air comes into the house
Like a puff from a genius
And the papers fly
And the doors are drumming,
One expects the presence of Someone.
But Someone doesn’t come.
It is No One who brings
Abducted smells from kitchens nearby,
Rumours from the curtains’ skirts,
Uncertain reasons.
The bedroom door
Opens like a solitary flower
Repeating the trick:
Someone doesn’t appear,
For the visitor is No One.
The proof of his passing through,
His visiting card
Is there in the leaves of the orange tree
That looks through the window,
In the newspaper that flies,
In the portraits askew.
The wind always announces
The coming of No One.

UNA VISITA DE NADIE

UNA VISITA DE NADIE

El tastaseo de la ventana
Con los vientos de agosto
Es la música de Nadie.
Cuando el aire entra a casa
Como el soplo de un genio
Y vuelan los papeles
Y las puertas tamborilean,
Uno espera la presencia de Alguien.
Pero Alguien no llega,
Es Nadie el que trae
Olores raptados de cocinas cercanas,
Rumores del faldón de las cortinas,
Inciertas razones.
La puerta de la alcoba
Se abre como flor solitaria
Repitiendo el trucaje:
No aparece Alguien,
Es Nadie el visitante.
La prueba de su paso,
Su tarjeta de visita,
Está en las hojas del naranjo
Que asoma a la ventana,
En el periódico que vuela,
En ladeados retratos.
El viento siempre anuncia
La llegada de Nadie.
Close

A Visit from No One

The rattle of the window
With the August winds
Is the music of No One.
When the air comes into the house
Like a puff from a genius
And the papers fly
And the doors are drumming,
One expects the presence of Someone.
But Someone doesn’t come.
It is No One who brings
Abducted smells from kitchens nearby,
Rumours from the curtains’ skirts,
Uncertain reasons.
The bedroom door
Opens like a solitary flower
Repeating the trick:
Someone doesn’t appear,
For the visitor is No One.
The proof of his passing through,
His visiting card
Is there in the leaves of the orange tree
That looks through the window,
In the newspaper that flies,
In the portraits askew.
The wind always announces
The coming of No One.

A Visit from No One

The rattle of the window
With the August winds
Is the music of No One.
When the air comes into the house
Like a puff from a genius
And the papers fly
And the doors are drumming,
One expects the presence of Someone.
But Someone doesn’t come.
It is No One who brings
Abducted smells from kitchens nearby,
Rumours from the curtains’ skirts,
Uncertain reasons.
The bedroom door
Opens like a solitary flower
Repeating the trick:
Someone doesn’t appear,
For the visitor is No One.
The proof of his passing through,
His visiting card
Is there in the leaves of the orange tree
That looks through the window,
In the newspaper that flies,
In the portraits askew.
The wind always announces
The coming of No One.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère