En la sala somos ocho
siete sentados alrededor de la mesa
el mánager de pie dirigiendo la reunión
hay cuatro personas más en remoto
visto camiseta de manga corta 
y pantalón ligero de verano
que me permite cruzar la pierna
apoyando el tobillo izquierdo tras la rodilla derecha

sigo las explicaciones con cierto esfuerzo
respondo cuando preguntan
mi postura muestra confianza
nada deja entrever los mordiscos de las ratas
que se esconden entre el suave tejido estival
y esta piel cada vez más pálida
no quiero que se vean, que se hagan patentes
les doy tiempo para que vayan a colonizar 
algún otro cadáver
uno que de verdad esté muerto

y así escojo con cuidado las palabras
que son importantes siempre
y conjuro los días de sol de mi infancia
cuando aún no sabía de complejidades
cuando compartíamos cama y bicicleta
idas y vueltas entre nuestro portal
y el pajar del abuelo al lado de las cuadras
el universo que nos veía inocentes 
soplaba sobre los pedales 
su brisa de promesas 

en esta invocación
que quiero limpia de mi oscuro derrotismo 
pongo toda la inocencia que me ha quedado
tras el vapuleo del torrente que me arrastró
hasta aquí y sobre el altar de la vida
con voz clara grito esta súplica confiada 

haz que mi alma vuelva a vibrar
y sea de tus pétalos su almohada!

Sunny days

In the room we are eight
seven sitting around the table
the manager standing leads the meeting
there are four more people in remote
I wear short sleeve t-shirt
and light summer trousers
that allows me to cross my leg
supporting the left ankle behind the right knee

I follow the explanations with some effort
answer when they ask
my posture exhibits confidence
nothing shows the bites of rats
that hide between the soft summer fabric
and this increasingly paler skin
I don't want them to be seen, to become obvious
I give them time to go colonize
some other corpse
one that is really dead

and so I choose my words carefully
they are always important
and I conjure the sunny days of my childhood
when I still didn't know about complexities
when we shared a bed and a bicycle
coming and going between our gate
and grandfather's haystack next to the stables
the universe sawing us innocent
blew on our pedals 
its breeze of promises


in this invocation
that I want free of my dark defeatism 
I put all the innocence that I have left
after the beating of the torrent that dragged me here and on the altar of life
with a clear voice I cry out this confident invocation

make my soul vibrate again
and let your petals be its pillow!

Entro na gasolineira a pagar 
a luz do día me encontra 
co arrepentimento e a vergonza da resaca
os rabuñazos cos que a vida vai marcando
territorio sobre a pel usada
e os ombreiros lixeiramente caídos
(cos exercicios dorsais tentarei
endereitar a indignidade)
a luz do día sen piedade
obrígame a dar a cara 

Dende a mesa onde xantamos
procuro a perfección en liñas xeométricas 
fago coincidir o parabrisas dun coche aparcado
co marco da porta do bar
alí onde o cristal encontra o capó
a mente en segundo plano percorre 
escenarios do erro en soidade
e da dificultade para acadar acordos
creando un vértice exacto, afiado 
que non deixa opcións para o fallo

Agreements

I go into the petrol station to pay
the light of day finds me
with the regret and shame of the hangover
the scratches with which life marks
territory on my used skin
and slightly slumped shoulders
(with the back exercises I will try 
straighten the indignity)
the merciless daylight
forces me to show my face

From the table where we're having lunch
I seek perfection in geometric lines
match the windscreen of a parked car
with the restaurant door frame
where the glass meets the bonnet
the mind in the background wanders
scenarios of the error in solitude
and the difficulty in reaching agreements
creating an exact, sharp edge
which leaves no options for failure

a papá

Trinta anos despois 
e tras un milleiro de batallas perdidas
na rixidez dos meus músculos
por fin te encontro

No olor doce da suor 
no medio laio que sae da gorxa
involuntario cando me incorporo
por fin te encontro

Trinta anos despois 
tesos coma dous troncos aboiando no río
que anchea e se ralentiza
por fin te encontro

Na miña esencia inflexíbel
fonte teimuda e inesgotábel 
de canta dor existe
por fin te entendo 
e te encontro

Encounter

Thirty years later
and after a thousand lost battles
in the stiffness of my muscles
finally i find you

In the sweet smell of sweat
in the half moan that comes out of the throat
involuntarily when I sit up
finally i find you

Thirty years later
stiff as two logs floating in the river
that widens and slows down
finally i find you

In my inflexible essence
stubborn and inexhaustible source
of all the pain that exists
i finally understand you
and find you

levei o meu bebé no colo 
durante tantos aeroportos e fronteiras
imprimido no din a catro da oficina
tras meses de xestación xa estaba formado
para o parto 

nunha cafetería do centro
onde escollín o seudónimo do pai
dinlle o último retoque
alí ao carón unha rapaza nova fixo as copias
grampou os catro exemplares

compreille os sobres e marchei co coche
cento trinta quilómetros 
cara ao norte 
en peregrinaxe ata ese concello 
agochado nas rías altas

Seguro non será 
nin o máis grande nin o máis fermoso 
pero é o fillo das miñas entrañas
cargado coa dor e a alegría 
dos meus antergos

Mr. Abel’s son visits Galicia

I carried my baby in my lap 
during so many airports and borders
printed on A4 office paper
after months of gestation he was already formed
for childbirth

in a coffee shop downtown
where I chose the father's pseudonym
I gave him the final touch
there next to it a young girl made the copies
stapled all four copies

I bought the envelopes and left with the car
one hundred and thirty kilometers
towards the north
on pilgrimage to that municipality
hidden in the high estuaries

It sure won't be
neither the biggest nor the most beautiful
but he is the child of my womb
burdened with pain and joy
of my ancestors

O meu país húmido e frío
de infancia septentrional
tornouse en territorio 
seco e soleado do sur 
ao que volto como ave migratoria

aquí o choque térmico 
inclina o corpo á indolencia
pérdome nos labirintos da sintaxe 
deixo aboiar as mans cegas
sobre a codia reseca da alma
vence a preguiza á hora de afondar
no cerne do sentimento

Migratory birds

My humid and cold 
northern childhood country
became dry and sunny 
southern territory
where I return as a migratory bird

here the heat shock 
inclines my body to indolence
I get lost in the labyrinths of syntax
let my blind hands float 
over the parched crust of the soul
laziness overcomes when it comes 
to delving into the core of the feeling

adentro
há um oceano de folhas verdes
carregado de tormentas
de rochas afiadas e ventos nômades

afora 
neuroses de concreto e plástico
o meu menino dorme sobre papelōes
cheira medusas venenosas 
que moram entre tijolos partidos
e grafites obscenos
meu menino, minha esperança 
coberto de pó e abandono
aguarda pelo sopro daquele mar
sobre a sua pele morena
cada lágrima minha uma folha de grama 
no jardim de lavanda na porta da entrada

Green leaves

inside
there's an ocean of green leaves
laden with storms
sharp rocks and nomadic winds

outside
neuroses of plastic and concrete
my boy sleeps on cardboard
snorts poisonous jellyfish
the one living among broken bricks
and obscene graffiti
my boy, my hope
covered in dust and abandonment
wait for the breath of that sea
on his brown skin
each of my tears is a blade of grass
in the lavender garden at the front door

tengo un grito cargado 
poderoso salvaje 
que me golpea por dentro 
no encuentra salida 
ni hendidura que reventar
sólo alas secas de escarabajo
y plumas apolilladas 
de un pájaro carpintero disecado
así que desgarra todo a su paso 
saca la sangre de las venas
me deja exhausto
no hay canción de rebeldía 
que lo arrastre como fórceps
de todas formas 
las ropas que vestía ayer
hoy ya me dan arcadas
soy el dueño de una fiera
nadie lo pensaria
porque de tan potente
me tiene la garganta obstruida
y no se escucha de mi boca
más que un tenue lamento dubitativo 
un susurro indeciso
el aliento premonitorio
del reino cadavérico

en un palo de boj la hechicera
está tallando un pico afilado de ave
con el que chillar todo este silencio

the scream

i have a loaded cry
mighty savage
that hits me inside
can't find a way out
nor crack to burst
just dry beetle wings
and moth-eaten feathers
of a stuffed woodpecker
so it tears everything in its path
draws the blood from my veins
leaves me exhausted
there is no rebellious song
that drags it out like forceps
anyway
the clothes i wore yesterday
already make me gag today
i am the owner of a beast
nobody would think so
because of how powerful it is 
it has my throat clogged
and from my mouth is just heard
a faint doubtful lament
an indecisive whisper
the foreboding breath
of the cadaverous kingdom

on a boxwood stick the sorceress
is carving a sharp bird beak
with which to scream all this silence

a marea comeza a devalar
a corrente arrastra as gaivotas 
que aboian como botellas de plástico
cara ao mar aberto
nos seus chíos como frechas 
viaxa de volta o desexo
e as outras marcas da vida
zoa o vento no paseo marítimo
oxídanse os cadeados que manteñen
o amor asegurado
a LGBT con profusión de música e cores
celebra que a mocidade por fin 
ten unha carga menos
e os baños Gender Neutral
rumorean outros conflictos
a humanidade xamáis libre

the tide begins to recede
the current sweeps the seagulls away
that float like plastic bottles
towards the open sea
in their cries like arrows
desire travels back
as well as the other marks of life
the wind blows on the promenade
the padlocks that keep love secured are rusted
LGBT with profusion of music and colors
celebrates that young people finally 
have one less burden
and Gender Neutral bathrooms
whisper about other conflicts 
humanity will be never free

https://wp.me/p1YZu7-btv

Happy to be among the Sunday poems of Flavio

https://wp.me/p1YZu7-bkt

Today Flavio Almerighi publishes one of my poems translated into Italian in his Sunday selection, good news that brightens my morning!

Ohhh, the link is not the right one…