Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Pedro Arturo Estrada

THE WITCHES LET THEIR CHARMS BE GAZED AT

I have seen the smiles
on the drunken faces of the sorceresses on those nights
when the late hours pressed on the bones
and the soul crawled
like an ailing moon.

Young and expert in a centuries-old art,
feverish, vaguely sensual,
they spread their prodigious ointments
– as if caressing a sleeping lover –
on their naked bodies . . .

My heart drank sharing the secret
the dark and magical wine
of a new madness.

LAS BRUJAS DEJABAN CONTEMPLAR SUS ENCANTOS

LAS BRUJAS DEJABAN CONTEMPLAR SUS ENCANTOS

He visto sonreír
las caras ebrias de las hechiceras aquellas noches
cuando las horas altas oprimían los huesos
y el alma se arrastraba
como una luna achacosa.

Jóvenes y expertas en un arte de siglos,
febriles, vagamente sensuales
untaban sus ungüentos prodigiosos
como si acariciaran un amante dormido
en sus cuerpos desnudos . . .

Mi corazón bebía compartiendo el secreto
el vino oscuro, mágico
de una nueva locura.
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THE WITCHES LET THEIR CHARMS BE GAZED AT

I have seen the smiles
on the drunken faces of the sorceresses on those nights
when the late hours pressed on the bones
and the soul crawled
like an ailing moon.

Young and expert in a centuries-old art,
feverish, vaguely sensual,
they spread their prodigious ointments
– as if caressing a sleeping lover –
on their naked bodies . . .

My heart drank sharing the secret
the dark and magical wine
of a new madness.

THE WITCHES LET THEIR CHARMS BE GAZED AT

I have seen the smiles
on the drunken faces of the sorceresses on those nights
when the late hours pressed on the bones
and the soul crawled
like an ailing moon.

Young and expert in a centuries-old art,
feverish, vaguely sensual,
they spread their prodigious ointments
– as if caressing a sleeping lover –
on their naked bodies . . .

My heart drank sharing the secret
the dark and magical wine
of a new madness.
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Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
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