Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

María Mercedes Carranza

Sunday song

It is useless to choose another way,
to decide between this wounded word and a yawn,
to go through the door after which you will get lost
or to go along like something that’s been forgotten.
It is useless to water roots
that are chimeras, trees or scars,
to change roles and of scenery,
to be a bow, a string, a bitch or a shadow,
to name and not to name, to decide by the stars.
It is useless to be in hurry and to guess,
because there is no time to see
or to linger the whole life long
in order to get to know your face in the mirror.
Lilies, cement, those light blue eyes,
the clouds that wander by, the smell of a body,
the chair that receives the slanted afternoon light,
all the air that you drink, all laughter, any Sunday,
everything takes you, indifferent and fatal, to your death.

Canción de domingo

Canción de domingo

Es inútil escoger otro camino,
decidir entre esta palabra herida y el bostezo,
atravesar la puerta tras la cual te vas a perder
o seguir de largo como cualquier olvido.
Es inútil rociar raíces
que sean quimeras, árboles o cicatrices,
cambiar de papel y de escenario,
ser arco, cuerda, puta o sombra,
nombrar  y no nombrar, decidirse por las estrellas.
Es inútil llevar prisa y adivinar
porque no hay tiempo para ver
o demorarse la vida entera
en conocer tu rostro en el espejo.
Los lirios, el cemento, esos ojos zarcos,
las nubes que pasan, el olor de un cuerpo,
la silla que recibe la luz oblicua de la tarde,
todo el aire que bebes, toda risa o domingo,
todo te lleva indiferente y fatal hacia tu muerte.
Close

Sunday song

It is useless to choose another way,
to decide between this wounded word and a yawn,
to go through the door after which you will get lost
or to go along like something that’s been forgotten.
It is useless to water roots
that are chimeras, trees or scars,
to change roles and of scenery,
to be a bow, a string, a bitch or a shadow,
to name and not to name, to decide by the stars.
It is useless to be in hurry and to guess,
because there is no time to see
or to linger the whole life long
in order to get to know your face in the mirror.
Lilies, cement, those light blue eyes,
the clouds that wander by, the smell of a body,
the chair that receives the slanted afternoon light,
all the air that you drink, all laughter, any Sunday,
everything takes you, indifferent and fatal, to your death.

Sunday song

It is useless to choose another way,
to decide between this wounded word and a yawn,
to go through the door after which you will get lost
or to go along like something that’s been forgotten.
It is useless to water roots
that are chimeras, trees or scars,
to change roles and of scenery,
to be a bow, a string, a bitch or a shadow,
to name and not to name, to decide by the stars.
It is useless to be in hurry and to guess,
because there is no time to see
or to linger the whole life long
in order to get to know your face in the mirror.
Lilies, cement, those light blue eyes,
the clouds that wander by, the smell of a body,
the chair that receives the slanted afternoon light,
all the air that you drink, all laughter, any Sunday,
everything takes you, indifferent and fatal, to your death.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère