Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Sara Uribe

"But no sign of any wild beast"

But no sign of any wild beast or any dog that had come
and tore your body. Where you were before, now empty
space. No one called to ask for a ransom or to threaten
us. No one said a single word: as if they sought to erase
you even more in silence.

I’d be grateful just to know where they’d taken him, it’d
be better if they’d left him dead, because at least then I’d
know where he ended up, where to cry for him, where to
pray. I probably would have accepted it by now.

"Maar geen tekens dat een beest"

Maar geen tekens dat een beest of een of andere hond
aan je was komen rukken. Waar vroeger jij nu
de leegte. Niemand heeft gebeld om losgeld te eisen
of ons te intimideren. Niemand heeft ook maar een woord
gezegd: alsof ze je nog meer ongedaan willen maken
in die stilte.

Als ik nou maar wist waar ze hem naartoe hadden
gebracht, ze hadden hem beter dood achter kunnen laten,
dan wist ik tenminste waar hij was, waar ik om hem
kon huilen, waar ik kon bidden. Misschien
had ik er dan in berust.

Pero ni rastro de fiera ni de perros que te hubieran
arrastrado para destrozarte. Donde antes tú ahora
el vacío. Nadie llamó para pedir rescate o
amedrentarnos. Nadie dijo una sola palabra: como si
quisieran deshacerte aún más en el silencio.

Yo les hubiera agradecido que a donde se lo hubie-
­ran llevado, mejor lo hubieran dejado muerto, por­-
que              al menos sabría yo dónde quedó, dónde
llorarle, dónde rezar. A lo mejor ya me hubiera
resignado.

Close

"But no sign of any wild beast"

But no sign of any wild beast or any dog that had come
and tore your body. Where you were before, now empty
space. No one called to ask for a ransom or to threaten
us. No one said a single word: as if they sought to erase
you even more in silence.

I’d be grateful just to know where they’d taken him, it’d
be better if they’d left him dead, because at least then I’d
know where he ended up, where to cry for him, where to
pray. I probably would have accepted it by now.

"But no sign of any wild beast"

But no sign of any wild beast or any dog that had come
and tore your body. Where you were before, now empty
space. No one called to ask for a ransom or to threaten
us. No one said a single word: as if they sought to erase
you even more in silence.

I’d be grateful just to know where they’d taken him, it’d
be better if they’d left him dead, because at least then I’d
know where he ended up, where to cry for him, where to
pray. I probably would have accepted it by now.

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