Which of the two writes the poem?
He who sleeps waking with the cypresses
of India or you who live enamored
of the streets of Buenos Aires
Which of the two writes the poem?
He who teaches classes and loves his
students or he who rides a bicycle
through Long Island parks without
thinking of coming back
Who writes the poem?
He who thinks that to err is his fate
or he who kneels before the sovereign
for not having opened all the books.
Translated by Loren Goodman
Miguel-Angel Zapata books include Lumbre de la letra, Escribir bajo el polvo, El cielo que me escribe, Cuervos, Los muslos sobre la grama, the bilingual A Sparrow in the House of Seven Patios, and Fragmentos de una manzana y otros poemas.
Loren Goodman is the author of Famous Americans, Suppository Writing, and New Products.
