El extravío / José Antonio Ramos Sucre

Misplacement


I have followed the steps of a pensive woman. I was seduced by the black eyes and the strange whiteness of the face.
     An illness had made me lose interest in life.
     I wandered through a series of streets shorn of stones and immersed in darkness. I indolently gave myself over to danger.
     I have reached the suburb of her home. The moon fascinates me imperiously.
     I have witnessed the parade and gathering of ambiguous figures. They all displayed the pensive woman’s profile and surrounded me, forming a chorus of threats and lamentations.
     I went back to the city’s central square, leaning on a night watchman’s arm.
     Despite the late hour, I visited the room where I was accepted in good standing. The windows leaked a profuse light onto the street.
     Wordlessly, I incorporated myself to the discourse of the incredulous priests.




Las formas del fuego (1929)




Translator’s note: A pdf version of the collected poems of Ramos Sucre, Obra completa, is available at the Biblioteca Ayacucho web site.




{ José Antonio Ramos Sucre, Obra completa, Caracas: Biblioteca Ayacucho, 1989 }