Aztecal XIV

It is difficult to build a house from a poem
to construct from it a cabin,
or to dedicate it to a native land.

We, those of the shattered sphinx.
do not have a house,
nor native land, nor cabin;
we, on the beach,
simply warming a poem
in the nights of coldness.

At times,
we would want to encounter
a stoked stove
to have coffee
and to play with the pinkie of God.

At times,
we would want to give birth to a son of the poem
or to sew a violin to the verse
thus making a symphony
there where we steal a kiss from the poem
before we put the verses to bed.

Oh!  How difficult to devise a dream for a poet.

Copyright 1989 by Francisco Azuela, Cancún, Quintana Roo.  Translated by Ron Hudson and Humberto Garza.

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Aztecal XIV

Es difícil hacer la casa de un poema,
construirle una cabaña
o dedicarle una patria.

Nosotros, los de la esfinge rota,
no tenemos casa,
ni patria, ni cabaña;
nosotros, sobre la playa,
calentamos simplemente un poema
en las noches de frío.

A veces,
quisiéramos encontrar
un fogón encendido,
tomar un café
y tocar el dedo pequeño de Dios.

A veces,
quisiéramos parirle un hijo al poema
o zurcirle un violín al verso
para hacernos una sinfonía
allí donde robamos un beso al poema
antes de acostarnos con los versos.

¡ Ah ! , qué difícil es hacerle un sueño al poeta.

Copyright 1989 by Francisco Azuela, Cancún, Quintana Roo