Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Raúl Gómez Jattin

Lola Jattin

Beyond the night that twinkles in childhood
Even beyond my first memory
is Lola – my mother – in front of a shop window
powdering her face and doing her hair
She is already thirty and beautiful and strong
and she is in love with Joaquín Pablo – my old man –
She doesn’t know that I hide in her belly ready
for the time when her strong life will need the strength of mine
Beyond these tears that run down my face
beyond her inmense pain which is like a stab
is Lola – the dead one – still vibrant and alive
sitting in the balcony looking at the bright stars
when the breeze from the ciénaga
untidies her hair and she combs it again
with something of concerted laziness and pleasure
Beyond this instant that has passed and will not come back
I am hiding in the flow of time that takes me
far away and that I now sense beforehand
Beyond these verses that secretly kill me
is old age – death – the endless time
when the two memories: my mother’s and mine
will become a single memory: these verses

Lola Jattin

Lola Jattin

Más allá de la noche que titila en la infancia
Más allá incluso de mi primer recuerdo
Está Lola – mi madre – frente a un escaparate
empolvándose el rostro y arreglándose el pelo
Tiene ya treinta años de ser hermosa y fuerte
y está enamorada de Joaquín Pablo – mi viejo –
No sabe que en su vientre me oculto para cuando
necesite su fuerte vida la fuerza de la mía
Más allá de estas lágrimas que corren en mi cara
de su dolor inmenso como una puñalada
está Lola – la muerta – aún vibrante y viva
sentada en un balcón mirando los luceros
cuando la brisa de la ciénaga le desarregla
el pelo y ella se lo vuelve a peinar
con algo de pereza y placer concertados
Más allá de este instante que pasó y que no vuelve
estoy oculto yo en el fluir de un tiempo
que me lleva muy lejos y que ahora presiento
Más allá de este verso que me mata en secreto
está la vejez – la muerte – el tiempo inacabable
cuando los dos recuerdos: el de mi madre y el mío
sean un recuerdo solo: este verso
Close

Lola Jattin

Beyond the night that twinkles in childhood
Even beyond my first memory
is Lola – my mother – in front of a shop window
powdering her face and doing her hair
She is already thirty and beautiful and strong
and she is in love with Joaquín Pablo – my old man –
She doesn’t know that I hide in her belly ready
for the time when her strong life will need the strength of mine
Beyond these tears that run down my face
beyond her inmense pain which is like a stab
is Lola – the dead one – still vibrant and alive
sitting in the balcony looking at the bright stars
when the breeze from the ciénaga
untidies her hair and she combs it again
with something of concerted laziness and pleasure
Beyond this instant that has passed and will not come back
I am hiding in the flow of time that takes me
far away and that I now sense beforehand
Beyond these verses that secretly kill me
is old age – death – the endless time
when the two memories: my mother’s and mine
will become a single memory: these verses

Lola Jattin

Beyond the night that twinkles in childhood
Even beyond my first memory
is Lola – my mother – in front of a shop window
powdering her face and doing her hair
She is already thirty and beautiful and strong
and she is in love with Joaquín Pablo – my old man –
She doesn’t know that I hide in her belly ready
for the time when her strong life will need the strength of mine
Beyond these tears that run down my face
beyond her inmense pain which is like a stab
is Lola – the dead one – still vibrant and alive
sitting in the balcony looking at the bright stars
when the breeze from the ciénaga
untidies her hair and she combs it again
with something of concerted laziness and pleasure
Beyond this instant that has passed and will not come back
I am hiding in the flow of time that takes me
far away and that I now sense beforehand
Beyond these verses that secretly kill me
is old age – death – the endless time
when the two memories: my mother’s and mine
will become a single memory: these verses
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère