Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Gustavo Gac-Artigas

intentions

i write to return

to the country i should never have left

 

the eternal rain on the tin roofs

bathes my heart in my sleep

red flags of my youth

color my desires

 

i write to shake off my nostalgia

to walk again through the woods of my childhood

to listen to the song of the river downstream

to fly along with a condor over the cordillera

 

i write to be reborn in your arms

to feel the caress of the wind on my cheeks

to relive the torment and drive away the pain

 

i write for my people

those i never knew

but whom i embraced from afar

 

those who walked paths unknown to me

the ones where i took my first step

those that they concealed from me to deny me a second step

 

i write about those who cannot walk

i write to learn to fly

i write in my sleepless nights

to die in the distance

and return to you in my dreams

propósitos

propósitos

escribo para regresar

al país del que no debí salir

 

la lluvia eterna sobre los techos de metal

baña mi corazón durante el sueño

banderas rojas de mi juventud

dan color a mis deseos

 

escribo para sacudirme la nostalgia

para volver a caminar por los bosques de mi infancia

para escuchar el canto del río corriente abajo

para volar junto a un cóndor sobre la cima de la cordillera

 

escribo para renacer en tus brazos

para sentir la caricia del viento en mis mejillas

para revivir el tormento y alejar el dolor

 

escribo para los míos

aquellos que no conocí

pero que abracé a la distancia

 

aquellos que caminaron senderos para mí desconocidos

esos en que di mi primer paso

esos que me escondieron para negarme un segundo paso

 

escribo sobre los que no pueden caminar

escribo para aprender a volar

escribo en las noches en vela

para morir en la distancia

y regresar a ti en mis sueños

Close

intentions

i write to return

to the country i should never have left

 

the eternal rain on the tin roofs

bathes my heart in my sleep

red flags of my youth

color my desires

 

i write to shake off my nostalgia

to walk again through the woods of my childhood

to listen to the song of the river downstream

to fly along with a condor over the cordillera

 

i write to be reborn in your arms

to feel the caress of the wind on my cheeks

to relive the torment and drive away the pain

 

i write for my people

those i never knew

but whom i embraced from afar

 

those who walked paths unknown to me

the ones where i took my first step

those that they concealed from me to deny me a second step

 

i write about those who cannot walk

i write to learn to fly

i write in my sleepless nights

to die in the distance

and return to you in my dreams

intentions

i write to return

to the country i should never have left

 

the eternal rain on the tin roofs

bathes my heart in my sleep

red flags of my youth

color my desires

 

i write to shake off my nostalgia

to walk again through the woods of my childhood

to listen to the song of the river downstream

to fly along with a condor over the cordillera

 

i write to be reborn in your arms

to feel the caress of the wind on my cheeks

to relive the torment and drive away the pain

 

i write for my people

those i never knew

but whom i embraced from afar

 

those who walked paths unknown to me

the ones where i took my first step

those that they concealed from me to deny me a second step

 

i write about those who cannot walk

i write to learn to fly

i write in my sleepless nights

to die in the distance

and return to you in my dreams

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