El mar en la ciudad / Emilio Adolfo Westphalen

The Sea in the City

Is this the sea that drags itself through fields,
Surrounds walls and towers,
Lifting hands like waves
To see its prey or goddess from afar?

Is this the sea that timidly, lovingly
Gets lost in alleys and little squares,
Invades gardens and licks the feet
And lips of broken, fallen statues?

Nothing else is heard except the bubbling
Of water trickling through basements
And sewers, lightly carrying
As weight, leaves, petals, insects.

What is the sea looking for in the deserted city,
Abandoned even by cats and dogs,
All its fountains silenced,
Tenuous bell towers muted?

The endless round continues,
The sea arches its back and repeats
Its song, emissary of life
Devouring all that is dead and rotting.

The sea, tender sea, the sea of origins,
Restarts the old work:
To clean the world’s ravages,
To cover it all with a hard and living rose.




Otra imagen deleznable (1980)




{ Emilio Adolfo Westphalen | Peru, 1911-2001 }