Me caigo en el primer foso que aparece
y tras el batacazo, ahí tumbado
a la mente se le sueltan los cachibaches
que con tanto esfuerzo venía sujetando
como el rayo de luz en una bodega polvorienta
descubro la carga toda que arrastraba
y no era otra que mi desmesurado ego

Such is life

I fall into the first pit that shows up
and after the crash, lying there
my mind lets go of the junk
that I'd been holding onto with such effort
like a ray of light in a dusty cellar
I discover the whole load I was dragging around
and it was none other than my excessive ego

Hai unha conexión do universo 
e os seus seres 
que vai alén das matemáticas

No corazón dun inverno frío 
do norte de Gales 
espertaron as formigas 
comprobado que a casa estaba habitada
saíndo de cada fenda
avanzaron en formación

Era pleno inverno e as formigas
un mes antes da chegada 
da carta de desafiuzamento
viñeran levar a casa 
a pequenos bocados 
e malia todo o tapaxuntas 
da tenda de materiais de construción
nada puido frear o seu avance
nin a nosa partida

Wall filler

There is a connection 
between the universe and its beings 
that goes beyond mathematics. 

In the heart of a cold winter 
in North Wales 
waking up, ants found the house inhabited 
emerging from every crack 
the advanced in formation 

It was the height of winter 
and the ants had come 
to take the house in small bites 
a month before the eviction notice arrived,
and despite all the wall filler from the hardware shop 
nothing could stop either their advance 
or our departure

Só isto
o lombo fumegante do boi
na corte
[a textura da sua pelaxe roxa] 
queda só do esforzo esta calma
a rama cesou de bater
a envolvente calor do esterco 
e esta paz que por fin asenta 
como unha ferradura de soidade
sabendo para sempre ido
aquilo máis amado

Steaming flank

Only this
the ox’s steaming flank
in the byre
[the texture of its fawn coat]
only this calm remains after the effort
the branch has stopped beating
the surrounding heat of the manure 
and this peace that finally fits
like a horseshoe of solitude
knowing that what was most loved 
is gone forever

Non é o estrondo grave das explosións 
afastadas, como en sordina
sobre as bases militares 
ou os cachos de mísil 
que tras seren desfeitos no aire
manteñen o medo 
no refuxio improvisado do soto

É a incapacidade do mundo
para deter ao matón da clase
quen como outros antes fixeran
usa o self-made chaos
para romper o máis estábel
dos equilibrios
esparexendo pó de ósos
mentras desde o edén golpea
inertes pelotas de golf

Not the deep roar

It is not the deep roar 
of distant explosions 
as if muted, over military bases 
or the missile fragments that
after being disintegrated in the air 
maintain fear 
in the makeshift basement shelter. 

It is the inability of the world 
to stop the class bully who 
like others before him 
uses self-made chaos 
to break the most stable 
of balances 
scattering bone dust 
while from Eden he hits 
inert golf balls.

Había onte un poema 
asomaba ansioso de ver a luz
busquei un lapis co que marcalo
un cordel para rodear a sua semántica 
deixala aí amarrada 
até á chegada da primavera

Neste proceso debín cair 
profundamente durmido
non sei o tempo pois os reloxos
foran consumindo as agullas
reducidas a un diminuto punto
que como tal a ningures apunta

Ao espertar lembrei o cordel, o lapis
que finalmente non apareceran 
habitante dun arrabalde do desconcerto 
rodeando incrédulo as miñas notas
por sorte, ao pé da porta da muralla
duas árbores estouraran de branco e rosa

Pronto as aceras cubertas de pétalos
serán as únicas beneficiarias 
daquel poema perdido

Suburb of bewilderment

There was a poem yesterday, 
peeking out eager to see the light
I looked for a pencil with which to mark it 
a string to surround its semantics 
and leave it tied there 
until the arrival of spring

In this process I must have fallen
deep asleep
I don't know the time because the clocks
had been consuming their needles
which reduced to a tiny point 
that, as such, points nowhere

Upon waking up I remembered the string, the pencil
that finally had not appeared
inhabitant of a suburb of bewilderment
circling my notes in disbelief
fortunately, at the foot of the wall gate
two trees had burst into white and pink

Soon the pavements covered in petals
will be the only beneficiaries
of that lost poem

Tiña no peito un fráxil cristal 
a piques de estalar 
- era como esas pedras delicadas 
que no museo de historia natural 
amosan atrás dunha vitrina -
dende o máis fondo do inverno 
viña forxada a sua tensión

Como un vento que pasa e leva 
o reflexo tallado na tona da auga
veu o sol sobre a herba do xardín traseiro 
atravesou un enxame de mosquitos 
que a supeta mornura puxera en movemento 
e rozou o cristal de xeito descoidado 
como pasando cara a algun outro sitio 
sen intención de se quedar

nese momento mesmo 
souben que chegaría a primavera
a chamar polos gromos das hortensias 

Uno sciame di zanzare

C'era un vetro fragile sul mio petto 
sul punto di scoppiare
- era come quelle pietre delicate 
che nel museo di storia naturale 
espongono dietro una teca di vetro -
dal profondo dell'inverno la sua tensione era stata forgiata

Come un vento che passa e porta via 
il riflesso scolpito nell'acqua
il sole sorvolò l'erba del giardino sul retro 
attraversò uno sciame di zanzare 
che il calore improvviso aveva messo in moto 
e sfiorò il vetro con noncuranza, 
come se passasse da qualche altra parte
senza alcuna intenzione di fermarsi

in quel preciso momento 
seppi che la primavera sarebbe arrivata
a trarre fuori i germogli delle ortensie

A swarm of mosquitoes

There was a fragile glass on my chest 
about to burst
- it was like those delicate stones 
that in the natural history museum 
are shown behind a glass case -
from the depths of winter 
its tension had been forged

Like a passing wind that carries away 
the reflection carved in the water
the sun came over the grass in the rear garden, 
passed through a swarm of mosquitoes 
that the sudden warmth had set in motion
and brushed the glass carelessly, 
as if passing somewhere else
with no intention of staying

at that very moment 
I knew that spring would come
to draw out the shoots of the hydrangeas

Pasan por aquí, 
á beira da estrada onde avanzo 
malia ser desastre con cadeas oxidadas amarradas aos pes

Os sobreviventes
pasan polo meu lado
saúdanme cun leve aceno da cabeza
recoñécenme coma o seu par

Eu, todo caos e sombras,
acabo por identificarme con eles
ainda que a Nai Terra me salvase
en cada un dos eventos finais

Incluso se tivese sido, como quen di 
só polos brazos extra na vendima

The survivors 

They pass by here, 
by the side of the road where I advance 
despite being a disaster 
wearing rusty chains tied to my feet

The survivors
pass by my side
they greet me with a slight nod
recognize me as their peer

I, all chaos and shadows,
end up identifying with them
even if Mother Earth saved me
in each of the final events

even if it had only been, so to speak
to have extra arms in the harvest

De cuando me rebozaba en la superficie 
de la vida
Y asesinaba sin piedad las horas
Desarmando astutamente la gramática 
del vacío
Disecando la corteza de las hojas
De aquel tiempo en que era profundamente 
Gilipollas 
Sólo un charco de cenizas
No queda ya nada
Prácticamente nada
Si no es un evolucionado descendiente
Hábil en el rastrillar las hojas 
Los dientes de la herramienta 
Que maneja con destreza
Rascan engreídos la semántica del deseo
La capa muerta del recuerdo perdido
En una nueva era de luz y taquígrafos
- Vendedores del sustrato de los sueños
Con gran aproximación se podría decir 
Que tras siglos de avances
Logro parecer ya únicamente 
Medio gilipollas

Evolution

From when I wallowed in life's surface
And mercilessly murdered the hours
Cunningly dismantling the grammar of emptiness
Dissecting the bark of the leaves
From that time when I was profoundly
Asshole
Just a pool of ashes
Nothing survives
Practically nothing
Unless an evolved descendant emerges
One skilled at raking the leaves
The teeth of the tool
That he wields with dexterity
Scrape arrogantly the semantics of desire
The dead layer of lost memory
In a new era living in broad daylight
- Sellers of the substrate of dreams
With great approximation one could say
That after centuries of progress, I now seem only half an asshole.

Por unha parte a conciencia 
de ter finalmente sido 
o que odiabamos
se filtra cargada de fíos
no cerne do máis apacíbel 

Pola outra, son partícula férrea
suxeita aínda ao magnetismo
do refuxio nos nosos corpos
mentres fóra un frío incomprensíbel
varría as rúas case valeiras

Black and white

On the one hand, the awareness 
of having finally become 
what we hated seeps, 
loaded with cutting edges, 
into the core of the calmer corner

On the other, I am an iron particle 
still subject to the magnetism 
of the refuge in our bodies 
while outside an incomprehensible cold 
was sweeping the almost empty streets

Las tres y media llegan 
con una orden de movimiento
Aquel refugio perdió su esencia 
inhóspito como un basurero

Me levanto, o eso creo 
y el suelo se ha deshecho
Cae casi en silencio 
levantando una polvareda irrespirable
Camino con cuidado 
por encima de las vigas
Las paredes
si se tratase de buscar apoyo
son de cristales rotos
Y los peldaños muestran huecos oscuros 
entre las tablas rotas
Los objetos que quedan 
tienen cantos vivos 
están afilados o inclinados al daño

Desesperado, entre los escombros 
aparece una cerilla redentora
Con suerte enciende a la primera 
e irreflexivamente prendo mi alma
Tras la breve combustión 
recojo las cenizas aún calientes
Que mi mente científica deposita 
al pie de los rosales
Con el fin de abonar el sustrato 
que puedan nacer hermosas espinas
Encantadoras en su misión 
de proteger la casa

Vuelvo arriba, o abajo… adentro 
donde sigo arrastrando los pies 
dejando manchas pálidas…
En este lapso, 
a la casa le han salido piernas 
y camina ya desvariando 
en busca de justicia
al borde de un acantilado de Millay
Sueña con ser barco, sin timón ni velas
será un madero arrastrado por las corrientes
golpeado con desgana contra las rocas
Acabará secando sobre un arenal desierto
quizás un día llegue una hormiga 
y lo escoja como hogar, al fin

Mientras aquí las ruedas del tren 
siguen su golpeteo tun-tun, tun-tun 
en las uniones de los raíles
Las cuatro menos cuarto 
ya va siendo hora de dejar la cama


Clickety-clack, clickety-clack

Three-thirty arrives with an order to move
That refuge has lost its essence, inhospitable as a rubbish tip

I get up, or so I think, and the floor has crumbled, falling almost silently, raising an unbreathable cloud of dust
I walk carefully across the beams
The walls, if I were to find something to lean on, are made of broken glass
And the steps show dark gaps between the broken planks
The remaining objects have sharp edges, are pointed, or are bent to injury
Desperate, a redeeming match appears among the rubble; luckily, it lights on the first try, and thoughtlessly I set my soul alight

After the brief combustion, I gather the still-warm ashes, which my scientific mind deposits at the foot of the rosebushes, to fertilize the soil, so that beautiful thorns may grow, enchanting in their mission to protect the house

I go back upstairs, or downstairs… inside, where I continue to drag my feet, leaving pale stains…
In this time, the house has grown legs
and now wanders deliriously, seeking justice, along the edge of a Millay’s cliff
It dreams of being a ship, without rudder or sails
It will be a log dragged by the currents
Slamming listlessly against the rocks
It will end up drying out on a deserted sandy beach
Perhaps one day an ant will arrive and choose it as its home, at last

Meanwhile, here the train wheels continue their clattering, clickety-clack, clickety-clack at the rail joints
It's a quarter to four, time to get out of bed