Ese espacio, ese jardín That Space, That Garden

Ese espacio, ese jardín

Ese meollo asible de hacinada ternura,
            Ese Delgado
 
envés.
 
            Los muertos vuelven también allí.
 
De allí nos miran; nos reflejan. Nor orillan
 
a ver.
 
            Unen
 
la luz del tiempo, las estancias abiertas, incesantes,
del tiempo, su entramado acaecer,
sus desbordadas resonancias en el cenit
de una alcanzada desnudez:       este gozo que vuelve,
 
nítido.
 
Esta radiante
 
hilaridad.          Esta risa que funda
y su fisura.
 
-Como un venero, un amuleto.  La fuente oculta
de un jardín.
 
Este huerto, este rapto
que heredamos
como una abierta melodía entre la noche, como un destello,
                                                                        una pregunta,
 
este cuerpo
 
                                                *
 
y su sed.
 
-De allí nos hablan,
de allí nos llaman, como entre sueños.
                        De un sueño a otro
 
nos llevan.
 
De un sueño a otro nos trazan, nos transparentan.
 
Como rasgos muy tenues en un paisaje.
Como respires.             De un sueño a otro buscamos
la solidez:          este fuego
 
que enlaza, que perdura.
Esta passion que arraiga,
que arrebata, y su acentrado contrapunto,
este sentir que engendra.           Y a tu mirada se abre
lo que aún refleja.
 
                        Unen
la luz del tiempo,           las estancias abiertas, incesantes,
del tiempo, sus remontrables laberintos, su abarcable acaecer:
 
Este aliento,
esta savia que funde, que transluce, que nos envuelve,
como un oleaje,
 
como un acorde:                       Estos contornos íntimos.
 
-Un giro breve del cristal.         -Una arista de luz.
 
Una textura.                  Una palabra.
 
            -Porque la muerte tiene
en el colmado corazón de la vida
enraizados sus vértices,
 
                                                y en ellos arde,
 
en ellos cede,                en ellos une
 
esta espesura.  
 

That Space, That Garden

That tangible centre of busy tenderness,
            that slim
 
obverse side.
 
            The dead go back there too.
 
They watch us from there; they mirror us.  They circle around us
 
to see.
 
            They join together
 
the light of time, time's open mansions, always moving,
its wovenness,
its overflowing resonance at the zenith
of nakedness achieved:  this pleasure that returns,
 
shining.
 
This radiant
 
happiness.        This laughter, underlying,
and its brokenness.
 
-Like a source, an amulet.  The hidden fountain
of a garden.
 
This little garden, this rapture
we inherit
like clear melody in the night, like a glimmer,
                                                a question,
 
this body
 
                                    *
 
and its thirst.
 
-From there they speak to us,
from there they call us, as in dreams.
 
                        From one dream to another
 
they carry us.
 
From one dream to another they draw us,     letting us be seen.
 
Like the very faintest features in a landscape.
Like breaths.    From one dream to another we look for
solidity:    this fire
 
that enthralls, that lasts.
This passion which takes root,
that whisks away,   and its boundless counterpoint,
this feeling that grows.
 
            They join together
the light of time,    time's open mansions, always moving,
their passable labyrinths, their encompassing  happening
 
This breath,
this sap, primal, that reveals, that envelops us
like waves,
 
as a harmony.               These intimate outlines.
 
-A quick turning of glass.        -A rim of light.
 
A texture.         A word.
 
            -Because death's crowns
are  rooted
in life's full heart
 
                                    and in them it burns
 
in them it yields,                        in them it joins
 
in matter.
 

That space, that garden

from part IX [concluding passage of the poem]

 
That graspable core/essence [i.e. solid part; lit. meaning is marrow/brains] of crowded tenderness
            that slim
 
back/reverse side
 
            The dead also return there.
 
From there they watch us; they reflect us. They skirt round us
 
to see.
 
            They join
 
the light of time, the open, incessant dwelling-places
of time, its entwined [i.e. worked into a framework or network] happening/occurrence,
its overflowing resonances/echoes in the zenith
of a nakedness/bareness reached/achieved: this pleasure that returns,
 
bright/clean/clear/pure.
 
This radiant
 
mirth.    This laughter that founds
and its fissure.
 
- Like a spring [i.e. fountain; also seam of rock/mineral], an amulet/charm. The hidden
            fountain
of a garden.
 
This small garden/orchard, this sudden impulse/rapture
that we inherit
like an open melody amid the night, like a glimmer,
                                                            a question,
this body.
 
*
 
and its thirst.
 
- From there they talk to us,
from there they call us, as in dreams.
                        From one dream to another
 
they carry us.
 
From one dream to another they trace/draw us,    they reveal us/allow us to be seen.
 
Like extremely faint features in a landscape.
Like breaths.    From one dream to another we look for
solidity:    this fire
 
that binds, that endures.
This passion that takes root,
that snatches away, and its uncentred counterpoint,
this feeling that engenders.
 
            They join together
the light of time,    the open, incessant dwelling-places
of time, their surmountable labyrinths, their comprehensible [lit. ‘embraceable']
            happening:
 
This breath,
this sap that founds, that reveals, that covers us
like a swell [i.e. of the sea],
 
like a chord/harmony.               These intimate outlines/forms.
 
- A momentary turn/gyration of glass.    - An edge of light.
 
A texture.         A word.
 
            - Because death has
in the abundant/overflowing heart of life
its apexes/tops rooted,
 
                                    and in them it burns
 
in them it yields,                        in them it joins
 
this thickness/density.
 

Original Poem by

Coral Bracho

Translated by

Tom Boll with Katherine Pierpoint Language

Spanish

Country

Mexico