Caterpillar, moth, butterfly--
there was no other stucco and tile alleyway to walk down,
no other dish to taste,
no other moon for the coyote to sing under,
by the end of that summer with you.
Velas, beso, caricia--
candle, kiss, caress--
there was nothing left but to wrap myself in your blankets...
rojo, blanco, naranja--
and set myself solitary for the months it took
to turn my love from a careless flow through open fingers,
to a dry distillation,
paper wings of poems
that remember you, and though changed,
it is still me, corazon,
never far from the flame...
oruga, polilla, mariposa--
rojo, blanco,
naranja.
_______
For Susan's bi-lingual challenge at Poets United. My Spanish, 30 years after leaving San Antonio, is spotty at best. I hope I haven't mangled it!
corazon--heart
rojo, blanco, naranja--red, white, orange.
Metamorphosis, the changing--how love becomes poem and how we ourselves become something else, perhaps even something with wings. Lovely cadence to this, Shay, as well as sweet and pungent images, ...and Spanish, they say, is the loving tongue.
ReplyDeleteOh Shay this is so beautiful, so heartfelt. I'm glad you stood up to the challenge and gathered all the memories involved in writing such a remarkable piece.
ReplyDeleteI like the image of flying creatures in the poem, and the word 'oruga', I had never heard it before! It's got to be my favorite word in Spanish from now one. Well, I like the presence of the critters because of their relevance for a view of a world that is changing.
And then the way you touch 'change' in the end, "it's still me, corazon", reassuring despites the changes, there is something in us which will continue to be everlasting.
Again, you're my favorite storyteller, plus, I love your love stories. <3
Kiss.
I also learned the word "oruga" as well as "polilla" from this beauty of a poem! I love mixing Spanish words into writing-have you read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao?
ReplyDelete"paper wings of poems"
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.
This piece reminds me that they yearly butterfly exhibit at the Wild Animal Park starts up next month. :-)
Oh, how lovely! This left me sighing.
ReplyDeleteYou took me right back to that summer.....and the romantic other language made it even dreamier. Sigh. So beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI love bilingual poetry because it reminds me how our written art transcends any one language, shifting between them all in the ether of imagination and desire to express heart and soul as you have done quite remarkably here.
ReplyDeleteThere is a seemingly effortless flow to this...and the incorporation of Spanish is so organic and essential to the whole. A very beautiful piece.
ReplyDeleteSteve K.
Love how you depict change in this piece and those last four lines
ReplyDeletepaper wings of poems
that remember you, and though changed,
it is still me, corazon,
never far from the flame...
simply love!
Taco, Burrito, Chimichanga...
ReplyDeleteThese lines are utterly remarkable:
ReplyDeleteto turn my love from a careless flow through open fingers,
to a dry distillation,
paper wings of poems
I always enjoy your love poems, Shay. They are uniquely you and always written with skill and veracity.
So beautiful..often I write paper wings...wings to free me from things I shouldn't cling to
ReplyDeleteThis is a very beautiful poem - poignant. Lovely to read - almost a song.
ReplyDeleteThat's so beautiful! Love the spanish included.
ReplyDeletepaper wings of poems...WOW.
ReplyDeleteHow can continue to write such wonderful poems so frequently?
I sometime think you're possessed by dead poets who each demand their time in your body. I do feel for them, however, because I know how strong your soul is...the words may start as the possessor might wish, but they end up where Shay wants them to go:~)