Rocks

There used to be rocks
big and wild
along the path
to the mountain
the rocks are so hard
they don’t need skin
although water leaves its mark
a soft skin
and the wind
a kind of chicken skin
in the shade they’re cold
and they’re warm in the sun
there’s one the shape of a shoe
or a dog’s head
and another the shape of a frog
which is one of the most common shapes
among the rocks
a tree grew over a rock
it attached itself to her
and took her exact form
the root couldn’t enter
like it could the earth
a tree that lived off the rain
or the air
or love for its rock.

          Translated from the Spanish by Alexis Almeida

Clouds

The scene:
a field
between two mountains
in which you see:
just that
and the sky
a perfect blue
and voluptuous
clouds
well-formed
they make you want to jump
and roll around inside them
but you can’t
because they’re made of smoke
a body passes through them
now they go in clumps
and hide
behind the mountain
where they get dressed up
fluff their feathers
one appears
as the protagonist
lilting
lyrical
full of herself 
behind the others
like a group of young dancers
in love with making the rounds
a gathering of clouds
begin to appear
the wind pushes an enormous one
that from the side enters the scene
it’s a love story
lovers approaching each other
ominously
lovingly
they perch themselves
one on top of the next
just like I dreamed
a gathering of clouds approaching each other
at full speed.

          Translated from the Spanish by Alexis Almeida

The Hairdo

I thought it was a butterfly
but it was actually
a small blue bat
it came out at night
while I was sleeping
so as not to disturb me
with it’s flapping wings
I trapped it
put it under my pillow
and kept sleeping
and when I got up
Flor, who had been dressing me said
don’t be scared
but there’s a little blue bat
in your hair
it was what I feared
what I most wanted to avoid
but there it was
gripping my hair
like a glowing clip

          Translated from the Spanish by Alexis Almeida