Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Galo Ghigliotto

15

those lights you can see beneath the river
are the parties thrown aboard the sunken ship the Canelos
we are all invited
I wanted to arrive and I almost didn't
a birth in the wrong era
is the risk you run
when you are reincarnated against the movement of time

my eye glides on a thread of water
it will fall over the sound of violins
playing Moonlight Serenade
the water is lit with colors because the party
never ends at the bottom of the river 

the Canelos is an applause
we dead ones are happy
we have come from all the eras
to dance on a moldy deck
from fish scales that are eyes staring into the void

because we have no time we are celebrating
we have taken over the spectral spaces
to finish something that still exists
and if your motorboat should pass over us
over those lights that appear to disappear
you should know
that we ghosts feel embarrassed around the living
because we are barely fans of life 
and we leave our dreams like spirals in the air 
so that when you all breathe heavily
our faces appear as you sleep
and you will fall in love with us
because even though you don’t recognize us
we trust in the memory of the genotype
and you would have fallen in love with the one who will become your daughter
because you saw her dancing on the deck of the Canelos
wrapped in a scarf of stars

the Canelos and the ghosts
uncomfortable in oblivion
we sing a script of colors
to be projected on the page of a day
on the page of a day
called Valdivia

15

15

esas luces que se ven bajo el río
son las fiestas que se hacen a bordo del Canelos
estamos todos invitados
yo quería llegar y estuve a punto de no hacerlo
un nacimiento en la época incorrecta
es el riesgo que se corre
al reencarnarse en contra del sentido del tiempo

mi ojo se desliza por un hilo de agua
va a caer sobre el sonido de violines
entonando una canción sentimental
el agua está iluminada de colores porque la fiesta
nunca acaba en el fondo del río

el Canelos es un aplauso
los muertos estamos contentos
hemos venido de todas la épocas
a bailar sobre una cubierta enmohecida
por escamas que son ojos mirando al vacío

estamos festejando que por falta de tiempo
nos hemos tomado los espacios espectrales
para cumplir algo que todavía existe
y si vienes a pasear tu lancha sobre nosotros
sobre esas luces que parecen desaparecer
debes saber
que los fantasmas sentimos vergüenza ante los vivos
porque apenas somos aficionados a la vida
y dejamos nuestros sueños como volutas en el aire
para que cuando ustedes respiren fuerte
aparezcan nuestros rostros mientras duermen
y se enamoren de nosotros
porque aunque no nos reconozcan
confiamos en la memoria del genotipo
y te habrás enamorado de quien será tu hija
porque la viste bailando en la cubierta del Canelos
vestida de una bufanda de estrellas

el Canelos y los fantasmas
incómodos en el olvido
cantamos un guión de colores
para ser proyectado en la hoja de un día
en la hoja de un día
que se llama Valdivia
Close

15

those lights you can see beneath the river
are the parties thrown aboard the sunken ship the Canelos
we are all invited
I wanted to arrive and I almost didn't
a birth in the wrong era
is the risk you run
when you are reincarnated against the movement of time

my eye glides on a thread of water
it will fall over the sound of violins
playing Moonlight Serenade
the water is lit with colors because the party
never ends at the bottom of the river 

the Canelos is an applause
we dead ones are happy
we have come from all the eras
to dance on a moldy deck
from fish scales that are eyes staring into the void

because we have no time we are celebrating
we have taken over the spectral spaces
to finish something that still exists
and if your motorboat should pass over us
over those lights that appear to disappear
you should know
that we ghosts feel embarrassed around the living
because we are barely fans of life 
and we leave our dreams like spirals in the air 
so that when you all breathe heavily
our faces appear as you sleep
and you will fall in love with us
because even though you don’t recognize us
we trust in the memory of the genotype
and you would have fallen in love with the one who will become your daughter
because you saw her dancing on the deck of the Canelos
wrapped in a scarf of stars

the Canelos and the ghosts
uncomfortable in oblivion
we sing a script of colors
to be projected on the page of a day
on the page of a day
called Valdivia

15

those lights you can see beneath the river
are the parties thrown aboard the sunken ship the Canelos
we are all invited
I wanted to arrive and I almost didn't
a birth in the wrong era
is the risk you run
when you are reincarnated against the movement of time

my eye glides on a thread of water
it will fall over the sound of violins
playing Moonlight Serenade
the water is lit with colors because the party
never ends at the bottom of the river 

the Canelos is an applause
we dead ones are happy
we have come from all the eras
to dance on a moldy deck
from fish scales that are eyes staring into the void

because we have no time we are celebrating
we have taken over the spectral spaces
to finish something that still exists
and if your motorboat should pass over us
over those lights that appear to disappear
you should know
that we ghosts feel embarrassed around the living
because we are barely fans of life 
and we leave our dreams like spirals in the air 
so that when you all breathe heavily
our faces appear as you sleep
and you will fall in love with us
because even though you don’t recognize us
we trust in the memory of the genotype
and you would have fallen in love with the one who will become your daughter
because you saw her dancing on the deck of the Canelos
wrapped in a scarf of stars

the Canelos and the ghosts
uncomfortable in oblivion
we sing a script of colors
to be projected on the page of a day
on the page of a day
called Valdivia
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