Three Poems
By eduardo estévez.
i bought a couple…
i bought a couple
of canaries
to brighten up the
immaculate house
after three days they died
of a virus or sorrow
without even being given
names
he always liked…
he always liked
daisies
but read terrible poets
talked too much
moved effortlessly
through the crowds
writing appropriated
surrealist images
he fucked drunken women
bought with
sweet nothings
had different jobs
was an august holidaymaker in venice
now that the years
have left a shine on
his head
he seeks peace
the joy certainty brings
he disconnects the phone
at siesta time
avoids crowded places
unnecessary adjectives
talks quietly doesn’t argue
he prefers the lazy
drift of a
petal landing
in the middle of the pond
his face gave away nothing…
his face gave away nothing
under the circumstances
to suggest this would be their
final encounter
they found themselves
in the apartment as usual
sharing a meal and chatting
about their mundane
little worlds
this time the frozen pizza
had the taste of a pleasant
routine
and the measured serenity
of things they know will
always be
when the time was
right
(they both had early morning
business)
one of them got up
grabbed a coat
(it’s cold
at night
in march)
they both went downstairs
one waiting in the doorway
until the other had gone
still lingering
for a few seconds
when the car
had already disappeared
around the corner
Translated from the Galician by Steven Porter.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
eduardo estévez was born in 1969 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has lived in Galicia since 1995. He is a prize-winning poet who writes in the Galician language. Among his poetry books are lúa gris (grey moon), derrotas (defeats) and os veos da paisaxe (veils of the landscape). The above translations come from contrucións, published by Positivas, Santiago de Compostela in 2008. eduardo also translates and edits literature and conducts creative writing workshops. He is currently working on projects that combine poetry with other forms of artistic expression like photography.
First published in 3:AM Magazine: Tuesday, August 24th, 2010.
