Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

William Agudelo

Rumba in the Sun

Oh, sun of dishevelled curls!
(your biting old golds
stab the swollen feet
of those who assuage their anger
on concrete slabs)
in cities conserving
behind the mute walls of their fear
oases with glossy dates
smiling houris in tangas
and long drinks with ice.

Oh sun jumping on the sand like a bull
of illuminated head! (your white-hot
wheel of horns) beat the black sands
with your cleft hoof, boil in me your anger,
kill my resignation with the rising fume
of your infirmaries.
Oh sun of tender tongues!
on the tanned skin and sun lotions
(there are those who enjoy another day on the beach
caressed by the useless aura of their beauty)
put on wait their pampered flesh
so close – in your sparkling darkness –
the dark old crab.

Oh hieratic sun of monkeys!
(there are no grimaces for the ritual
no nails in the reddened leather
no surprise capers
no itching) give us the lightness
of melted greases, gives us air
from the dried-up flowers of palms.

Oh sun of sour lunches!
(now you weigh more in the blacksmith’s mallet
you explode in his forge and transform
into gum his beautiful horseshoes)
that gives the dry nausea of the desert
to the stubborn wayfarers
tumble down at the blinding hour
of noon in the police stations
in the palaces of the satrapies
in the fraudulent cafés and notary offices
in the staircases of town halls.

Oh sun of injustice! (thunder
like an immense revolver, uproot,
knit, kill, grind, squash
following our command).
I want a concave mirror made to your measure
to duplicate your live coal
so that you kill yourself dry and drunk
contradictory and despicable
in a sea setting of honey and cardamon.

Rumba al sol

Rumba al sol

¡Oh sol de desgreñados rizos!
(tus mordientes oros viejos
apuñalan los pies hinchados
de quienes apacientan su ira
sobre planchas de asfalto)
en ciudades que guardan
tras las sordas murallas de su miedo
sus oasis con dátiles lustrosos
sonrientes huríes en tanga
y esbeltos vasos de alcohol con hielo.

¡Oh sol que a la arena saltas como un toro
de testa iluminada! (tu rueda de cuernos
al rojo blanco) bate arenas negras
con tu pezuña hendida, cocina en mí tu rabia,
mata mi resignación con el tufo ascendente
de tus enfermerías.
¡Oh sol de lenguas tiernas!
sobre la piel tostada y con foto-protector
(hay quienes gozan otro día de playa
acariciados por el aura inútil de su belleza)
pon al acecho en sus mimadas carnes
tan cercano – en tus tinieblas rutilantes –
al oscuro viejo cangrejo.

¡Oh hierático sol de los monos!
(no hay muecas para el rito
no hay uñas en el cuero enrojecido
no hay piruetas sorpresa,
no hay picor) danos la ligereza
de las grasas fundidas, danos aire
de las flores resecas de las palmas.

¡Oh sol de almuerzos agrios!
(ahora pesas más en el mazo del herrero
explotas en su fragua y le conviertes
en chicle sus hermosas herraduras)
que a los tercos viandantes
das náusea seca del desierto
desplómate a la hora cegadora
del mediodía de las comisarías
en los palacios de las satrapías
en los fraudes de café y de notarías
en las escalinatas de las alcaldías.

¡Oh sol de la injusticia! (truena
como un inmenso revólver, rae,
cose, mata, muele, aplasta
según nuestro mandato).
Quiero un cóncavo espejo a tu medida
que duplique tu brasa
para que te suicides seco y ebrio
contradictorio y vil
en un ocaso de mar de miel y grana.
Close

Rumba in the Sun

Oh, sun of dishevelled curls!
(your biting old golds
stab the swollen feet
of those who assuage their anger
on concrete slabs)
in cities conserving
behind the mute walls of their fear
oases with glossy dates
smiling houris in tangas
and long drinks with ice.

Oh sun jumping on the sand like a bull
of illuminated head! (your white-hot
wheel of horns) beat the black sands
with your cleft hoof, boil in me your anger,
kill my resignation with the rising fume
of your infirmaries.
Oh sun of tender tongues!
on the tanned skin and sun lotions
(there are those who enjoy another day on the beach
caressed by the useless aura of their beauty)
put on wait their pampered flesh
so close – in your sparkling darkness –
the dark old crab.

Oh hieratic sun of monkeys!
(there are no grimaces for the ritual
no nails in the reddened leather
no surprise capers
no itching) give us the lightness
of melted greases, gives us air
from the dried-up flowers of palms.

Oh sun of sour lunches!
(now you weigh more in the blacksmith’s mallet
you explode in his forge and transform
into gum his beautiful horseshoes)
that gives the dry nausea of the desert
to the stubborn wayfarers
tumble down at the blinding hour
of noon in the police stations
in the palaces of the satrapies
in the fraudulent cafés and notary offices
in the staircases of town halls.

Oh sun of injustice! (thunder
like an immense revolver, uproot,
knit, kill, grind, squash
following our command).
I want a concave mirror made to your measure
to duplicate your live coal
so that you kill yourself dry and drunk
contradictory and despicable
in a sea setting of honey and cardamon.

Rumba in the Sun

Oh, sun of dishevelled curls!
(your biting old golds
stab the swollen feet
of those who assuage their anger
on concrete slabs)
in cities conserving
behind the mute walls of their fear
oases with glossy dates
smiling houris in tangas
and long drinks with ice.

Oh sun jumping on the sand like a bull
of illuminated head! (your white-hot
wheel of horns) beat the black sands
with your cleft hoof, boil in me your anger,
kill my resignation with the rising fume
of your infirmaries.
Oh sun of tender tongues!
on the tanned skin and sun lotions
(there are those who enjoy another day on the beach
caressed by the useless aura of their beauty)
put on wait their pampered flesh
so close – in your sparkling darkness –
the dark old crab.

Oh hieratic sun of monkeys!
(there are no grimaces for the ritual
no nails in the reddened leather
no surprise capers
no itching) give us the lightness
of melted greases, gives us air
from the dried-up flowers of palms.

Oh sun of sour lunches!
(now you weigh more in the blacksmith’s mallet
you explode in his forge and transform
into gum his beautiful horseshoes)
that gives the dry nausea of the desert
to the stubborn wayfarers
tumble down at the blinding hour
of noon in the police stations
in the palaces of the satrapies
in the fraudulent cafés and notary offices
in the staircases of town halls.

Oh sun of injustice! (thunder
like an immense revolver, uproot,
knit, kill, grind, squash
following our command).
I want a concave mirror made to your measure
to duplicate your live coal
so that you kill yourself dry and drunk
contradictory and despicable
in a sea setting of honey and cardamon.
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