Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Fernando Linero

Among the Stones of the Earth

I know nothing about the heavens
I hold up with my clumsy words.
Planted in the earth is my sap
just singing, not waiting for anything.
The longings that rose with me from the sea
glittering like fields of oats,
have defeated time and indolence.
Sometimes a distant image
hardly harmonizes
with the slopes of my song:
my mother standing behind the lemon tree
hanging clothes on the walls of summer
piling up one sadness after another.
Sometimes a dream
the one that finds me with my dead
squatting under the sun
vaguely following the insects buzzing.
Sometimes a peal of laughter already lost
lingers in my hollowness
and with difficulty climbs up
the skirts of my song.
I know nothing about the skies
supporting my clumsy words.
On the stones of the earth is my hearth.

Entre las piedras de la tierra

Entre las piedras de la tierra

Nada sé de los cielos
que sostengo con mis torpes palabras.
Plantada en la tierra está mi savia
cantando sin espera de nada.
Anhelos que subieron conmigo desde el mar
resplandecientes como campos de avena
los ha vencido el tiempo y la desidia.
A veces una imagen distante
se aviene con dificultad
a las laderas de mi canto:
mi madre de pie tras el limonero
tendiendo ropas en los muros del verano
amontonando tristezas.
A veces un sueño
el que me encuentra con mis muertos
acurrucados al sol
vagamente atentos a un zumbido de insectos.
A veces una risa ya perdida
que en mis oquedades se demora
y con dificultad escala
las faldas de mi canto.
Nada sé de los cielos
que sostienen a mis torpes palabras.
Entre las piedras de la tierra está mi hoguera.
Close

Among the Stones of the Earth

I know nothing about the heavens
I hold up with my clumsy words.
Planted in the earth is my sap
just singing, not waiting for anything.
The longings that rose with me from the sea
glittering like fields of oats,
have defeated time and indolence.
Sometimes a distant image
hardly harmonizes
with the slopes of my song:
my mother standing behind the lemon tree
hanging clothes on the walls of summer
piling up one sadness after another.
Sometimes a dream
the one that finds me with my dead
squatting under the sun
vaguely following the insects buzzing.
Sometimes a peal of laughter already lost
lingers in my hollowness
and with difficulty climbs up
the skirts of my song.
I know nothing about the skies
supporting my clumsy words.
On the stones of the earth is my hearth.

Among the Stones of the Earth

I know nothing about the heavens
I hold up with my clumsy words.
Planted in the earth is my sap
just singing, not waiting for anything.
The longings that rose with me from the sea
glittering like fields of oats,
have defeated time and indolence.
Sometimes a distant image
hardly harmonizes
with the slopes of my song:
my mother standing behind the lemon tree
hanging clothes on the walls of summer
piling up one sadness after another.
Sometimes a dream
the one that finds me with my dead
squatting under the sun
vaguely following the insects buzzing.
Sometimes a peal of laughter already lost
lingers in my hollowness
and with difficulty climbs up
the skirts of my song.
I know nothing about the skies
supporting my clumsy words.
On the stones of the earth is my hearth.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère