Poem
Galo Ghigliotto
15
those lights you can see beneath the riverare the parties thrown aboard the sunken ship the Canelos
we are all invited
I wanted to arrive and I almost didn't
a birth in the wrong era
is the risk you run
when you are reincarnated against the movement of time
my eye glides on a thread of water
it will fall over the sound of violins
playing Moonlight Serenade
the water is lit with colors because the party
never ends at the bottom of the river
the Canelos is an applause
we dead ones are happy
we have come from all the eras
to dance on a moldy deck
from fish scales that are eyes staring into the void
because we have no time we are celebrating
we have taken over the spectral spaces
to finish something that still exists
and if your motorboat should pass over us
over those lights that appear to disappear
you should know
that we ghosts feel embarrassed around the living
because we are barely fans of life
and we leave our dreams like spirals in the air
so that when you all breathe heavily
our faces appear as you sleep
and you will fall in love with us
because even though you don’t recognize us
we trust in the memory of the genotype
and you would have fallen in love with the one who will become your daughter
because you saw her dancing on the deck of the Canelos
wrapped in a scarf of stars
the Canelos and the ghosts
uncomfortable in oblivion
we sing a script of colors
to be projected on the page of a day
on the page of a day
called Valdivia
© Translation: 2016, Daniel Borzutzky; Galo Ghigliotto
From: Valdivia
Publisher: Co.im.press, Chicago, 2016
From: Valdivia
Publisher: Co.im.press, Chicago, 2016
15
15
esas luces que se ven bajo el ríoson las fiestas que se hacen a bordo del Canelos
estamos todos invitados
yo quería llegar y estuve a punto de no hacerlo
un nacimiento en la época incorrecta
es el riesgo que se corre
al reencarnarse en contra del sentido del tiempo
mi ojo se desliza por un hilo de agua
va a caer sobre el sonido de violines
entonando una canción sentimental
el agua está iluminada de colores porque la fiesta
nunca acaba en el fondo del río
el Canelos es un aplauso
los muertos estamos contentos
hemos venido de todas la épocas
a bailar sobre una cubierta enmohecida
por escamas que son ojos mirando al vacío
estamos festejando que por falta de tiempo
nos hemos tomado los espacios espectrales
para cumplir algo que todavía existe
y si vienes a pasear tu lancha sobre nosotros
sobre esas luces que parecen desaparecer
debes saber
que los fantasmas sentimos vergüenza ante los vivos
porque apenas somos aficionados a la vida
y dejamos nuestros sueños como volutas en el aire
para que cuando ustedes respiren fuerte
aparezcan nuestros rostros mientras duermen
y se enamoren de nosotros
porque aunque no nos reconozcan
confiamos en la memoria del genotipo
y te habrás enamorado de quien será tu hija
porque la viste bailando en la cubierta del Canelos
vestida de una bufanda de estrellas
el Canelos y los fantasmas
incómodos en el olvido
cantamos un guión de colores
para ser proyectado en la hoja de un día
en la hoja de un día
que se llama Valdivia
© 2006, Galo Ghigliotto
From: Valdivia
Publisher: Mantra Editorial, Santiago de Chile
From: Valdivia
Publisher: Mantra Editorial, Santiago de Chile
Poems
Poems of Galo Ghigliotto
Close
15
those lights you can see beneath the riverare the parties thrown aboard the sunken ship the Canelos
we are all invited
I wanted to arrive and I almost didn't
a birth in the wrong era
is the risk you run
when you are reincarnated against the movement of time
my eye glides on a thread of water
it will fall over the sound of violins
playing Moonlight Serenade
the water is lit with colors because the party
never ends at the bottom of the river
the Canelos is an applause
we dead ones are happy
we have come from all the eras
to dance on a moldy deck
from fish scales that are eyes staring into the void
because we have no time we are celebrating
we have taken over the spectral spaces
to finish something that still exists
and if your motorboat should pass over us
over those lights that appear to disappear
you should know
that we ghosts feel embarrassed around the living
because we are barely fans of life
and we leave our dreams like spirals in the air
so that when you all breathe heavily
our faces appear as you sleep
and you will fall in love with us
because even though you don’t recognize us
we trust in the memory of the genotype
and you would have fallen in love with the one who will become your daughter
because you saw her dancing on the deck of the Canelos
wrapped in a scarf of stars
the Canelos and the ghosts
uncomfortable in oblivion
we sing a script of colors
to be projected on the page of a day
on the page of a day
called Valdivia
© 2016, Daniel Borzutzky; Galo Ghigliotto
From: Valdivia
Publisher: 2016, Co.im.press, Chicago
From: Valdivia
Publisher: 2016, Co.im.press, Chicago
15
those lights you can see beneath the riverare the parties thrown aboard the sunken ship the Canelos
we are all invited
I wanted to arrive and I almost didn't
a birth in the wrong era
is the risk you run
when you are reincarnated against the movement of time
my eye glides on a thread of water
it will fall over the sound of violins
playing Moonlight Serenade
the water is lit with colors because the party
never ends at the bottom of the river
the Canelos is an applause
we dead ones are happy
we have come from all the eras
to dance on a moldy deck
from fish scales that are eyes staring into the void
because we have no time we are celebrating
we have taken over the spectral spaces
to finish something that still exists
and if your motorboat should pass over us
over those lights that appear to disappear
you should know
that we ghosts feel embarrassed around the living
because we are barely fans of life
and we leave our dreams like spirals in the air
so that when you all breathe heavily
our faces appear as you sleep
and you will fall in love with us
because even though you don’t recognize us
we trust in the memory of the genotype
and you would have fallen in love with the one who will become your daughter
because you saw her dancing on the deck of the Canelos
wrapped in a scarf of stars
the Canelos and the ghosts
uncomfortable in oblivion
we sing a script of colors
to be projected on the page of a day
on the page of a day
called Valdivia
© 2016, Daniel Borzutzky; Galo Ghigliotto
From: Valdivia
Publisher: 2016, Co.im.press, Chicago
From: Valdivia
Publisher: 2016, Co.im.press, Chicago
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