Poem
Héctor Rojas Herazo
The house among the oaks
A vague noise, a surprise in the wardrobes,the house was ours even more, it searched for our breath
like the fright of a child.
Over the objects there was a lukewarm murmur
a thorn, a hand,
crossing the bedrooms and lighting its furtive
embers in the corners.
The sound of a man, the portrait,
the reflection of air on the puddle
and the day with its firm arrow on the patio.
Beyond the bells, the smoke of the hills
and in a sweet and light boundary, in the breeze,
the bird and the water lightly singing.
All are present there, brother with sister,
my father and the harvest,
the breath of the beasts of burden and the murmur of the fruits.
Inside, the filial sacrifice of the wood
held up the roof.
An invisible rain moistened our steps
of babbling time, of strength, of authority and limit.
The air went by gently, looking for shadows,
voices to spill,
it breathed in the beds,
it left in the faces its golden ash.
It was then the day of leaves, of the potent humming, the day for the pitcher, the honey and the chores.
Like a gift of repose, the night with its load
of remote wheat ears reached our body
Our bread of longed-for splendor,
our amazement
and the lamps spilling over their angels
without hurry in the mirrors.
Like a man that yearned for his part,
his place at our table,
the wind floated sweetly on the tablecloths.
The stillness of the furniture, the voices, the roads,
they were all the silence of the night in the world.
Filling the walls with inaudible presence,
inhabiting the veins standing in front of things.
Our hands looked for an encompassing heat
and the eyes inquire about another impalpable skin.
Something of God, then, reached our windows
something that deepened the breeze between the oaks.
© Translation: 2005, Nicolás Suescún
La casa entre los robles
La casa entre los robles
A un ruido vago, a una sorpresa en los armarios,la casa era más nuestra, buscaba nuestro aliento
como el susto de un niño.
Por sobre los objetos era un tibio rumor,
una espina, una mano
cruzando las alcobas y encendiendo su lumbre
furtiva en los rincones.
El sonido de un hombre, el retrato,
el reflejo del aire sobre el pozo
y el día con su firme venablo sobre el patio.
Más allá las campanas, el humo de los cerros
y en un dulce y liviano confín, entre la brisa,
el pájaro y el agua levemente cantando.
Todos allí presentes, hermano con hermana,
mi padre y la cosecha,
el vaho de las bestias y el rumor de los frutos.
Adentro, el sacrificio filial de la madera
sostenía la techumbre.
Una lluvia invisible mojaba nuestros pasos
de tiempo rumoroso, de fuerza, de autoridad y límite.
Pasaba el aire suavemente, buscaba sombras,
voces que derramar,
respiraba en los lechos
dejaba entre los rostros su ceniza dorada.
Era entonces el día de hojas, de potente zumbido, el día para el cántaro, la miel y la faena.
Como un don de reposo llegaba a nuestro cuerpo
la noche con su carga de remotas espigas.
Nuestro pan de anhelado resplandor,
nuestro asombro,
y las lámparas derramando sus ángeles
sin prisa en los espejos.
Como un hombre que anhela su parte,
su sitio en nuestra mesa,
el viento dulcemente flotaba en los manteles.
La quietud de los muebles, las voces, los caminos,
eran todo el silencio de la noche en el mundo.
Llenando de inaudibles presencia las paredes, habitando las venas de pie frente a las cosas.
Buscaban nuestras manos un calor circundante
e indagaban los ojos otra piel impalpable.
Algo de Dios, entonces, llegaba a las ventanas
algo que hacía más honda la brisa en entre los robles.
© 1952, Héctor Rojas Herazo
From: Rostro en la soledad
Publisher: Antares, Bogotá
From: Rostro en la soledad
Publisher: Antares, Bogotá
Poems
Poems of Héctor Rojas Herazo
Close
The house among the oaks
A vague noise, a surprise in the wardrobes,the house was ours even more, it searched for our breath
like the fright of a child.
Over the objects there was a lukewarm murmur
a thorn, a hand,
crossing the bedrooms and lighting its furtive
embers in the corners.
The sound of a man, the portrait,
the reflection of air on the puddle
and the day with its firm arrow on the patio.
Beyond the bells, the smoke of the hills
and in a sweet and light boundary, in the breeze,
the bird and the water lightly singing.
All are present there, brother with sister,
my father and the harvest,
the breath of the beasts of burden and the murmur of the fruits.
Inside, the filial sacrifice of the wood
held up the roof.
An invisible rain moistened our steps
of babbling time, of strength, of authority and limit.
The air went by gently, looking for shadows,
voices to spill,
it breathed in the beds,
it left in the faces its golden ash.
It was then the day of leaves, of the potent humming, the day for the pitcher, the honey and the chores.
Like a gift of repose, the night with its load
of remote wheat ears reached our body
Our bread of longed-for splendor,
our amazement
and the lamps spilling over their angels
without hurry in the mirrors.
Like a man that yearned for his part,
his place at our table,
the wind floated sweetly on the tablecloths.
The stillness of the furniture, the voices, the roads,
they were all the silence of the night in the world.
Filling the walls with inaudible presence,
inhabiting the veins standing in front of things.
Our hands looked for an encompassing heat
and the eyes inquire about another impalpable skin.
Something of God, then, reached our windows
something that deepened the breeze between the oaks.
© 2005, Nicolás Suescún
From: Rostro en la soledad
From: Rostro en la soledad
The house among the oaks
A vague noise, a surprise in the wardrobes,the house was ours even more, it searched for our breath
like the fright of a child.
Over the objects there was a lukewarm murmur
a thorn, a hand,
crossing the bedrooms and lighting its furtive
embers in the corners.
The sound of a man, the portrait,
the reflection of air on the puddle
and the day with its firm arrow on the patio.
Beyond the bells, the smoke of the hills
and in a sweet and light boundary, in the breeze,
the bird and the water lightly singing.
All are present there, brother with sister,
my father and the harvest,
the breath of the beasts of burden and the murmur of the fruits.
Inside, the filial sacrifice of the wood
held up the roof.
An invisible rain moistened our steps
of babbling time, of strength, of authority and limit.
The air went by gently, looking for shadows,
voices to spill,
it breathed in the beds,
it left in the faces its golden ash.
It was then the day of leaves, of the potent humming, the day for the pitcher, the honey and the chores.
Like a gift of repose, the night with its load
of remote wheat ears reached our body
Our bread of longed-for splendor,
our amazement
and the lamps spilling over their angels
without hurry in the mirrors.
Like a man that yearned for his part,
his place at our table,
the wind floated sweetly on the tablecloths.
The stillness of the furniture, the voices, the roads,
they were all the silence of the night in the world.
Filling the walls with inaudible presence,
inhabiting the veins standing in front of things.
Our hands looked for an encompassing heat
and the eyes inquire about another impalpable skin.
Something of God, then, reached our windows
something that deepened the breeze between the oaks.
© 2005, Nicolás Suescún
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