Él
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Nell Haque
El arpa de Su pecho
compresión
Sus ojos teñidos
de alegría
y el cimbal
de Su voz.
Glance
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Nell Haque
Winged arrows
escape
irresistibly following
your murmurs
You glance at me through the glimpses
of sky visible through the trees
and in the treetops
the wind distracts you
my exaggerated heart
burns.
Translation of ‘Mirada’ by Ariana Dubov
From the Sea #3
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Nell Haque
The same notes
that you give
in your surges
I echo them
with notes of force
in feeling
I rebuild myself
with each onslaught
of your waves
in an immense
love
that carries me
with it
and brings
to the shore
the rocks
the whirlpool
the centre
always
crashing
the sea
lets go
and I let myself go.
Translation of ‘Del Mar #3’ by Karina Kalinkina
From the Sea #2
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From the Sea #2
Yes, they closed
the door
and the night watch
didn’t arrive
I wanted to jump
the fence
with barbed wire
and it was so high
and my heart
was complaining
like a child
who doesn’t understand
what’s wrong with it
like a lion
I pace
sea, salt
litany
swell
at my back.
Translation of ‘Del Mar #2’ by Karina Kalinkina
Del Mar #2
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Nell Haque
Si, cerraron
la puerta
y el rondín
no llegaba
quise saltar
la cerca
con alambres
de pua
y era muy alta
y el corazon
quejando
como un niño
no entiende
lo que le pasa
como león me
paseo
mar, sal
letanía
oleaje
a mis
espaldas.
From the Sea #1
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From the Sea #1
Goodbye salt water
my poems
are drying up
moving away from you
is an uphill battle
winter
unbutton me
resenting
it’s sorrow
remembering the joy
of another moment
the swell strikes
the same
nerve
again and again and again
in suspense
I walk
among the rocks
with you within.
Translation of ‘Del Mar #1’ by Karina Kalinkina
Echo
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Nell Haque
By the beach
the lady walks
and the crazy gringo
sometimes takes her
by the hand
sometimes they walk
each one alone
other times he takes
both of her hands
and gazes
into her eyes.
Who are they?
good friends
in this world
and in the next
the lady
Kristal revived
him, an echo.
Translation of ‘Retorno’ by Ariana Dubov
On Love #4
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Nell Haque
True love
doesn’t know
weariness
boredom
separation or pause
tirelessly
the waves of surrender
strike
you who knows love
who gives it relentlessly
until the cells
contract
polarize
give way
and the heart, feeling its way
broken with tenderness
the soul remains
wide open.
Translation of ‘De Amor #4’ by Ariana Dubov
On Love #3
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Nell Haque
You are
north, south
east and west
of me
Close your hand
make me your prisoner
give me meaning
and drown my vain
importance
and like you
the alpha and the omega
may I have neither beginning
nor end.
Translation of ‘Del Amor #3’ by Karina Kalinkina