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Last Coffee with Emily Dickinson
"The Worthiness of Suffering like
The Worthiness of Death is ascertained by tasting it
—Emily Dickinson
Sit next to me, Emily.
Together let us taste this coffee
before the bumblebees of death
begin their irrevocable dance, and silence
imposes its crust on our lives.
This bitter and mystical taste warming our lips,
frightening the monotony of the afternoon.
Let’s not allow the pistils of paranoia to bloom:
tell me of your secret loves, of the stars,
of the verses where you hide the most
earnest of your truths.
Do not leave yet, for this brew invites us.
with the arcana of its aroma,
we are but minstrels that can still breath.
What creatures force you into confinement?
Into extinguishing the haughtiest of your stars?
Now, I am the tender side of the estuaries,
the faintest light in your island of suspicion.
I invoke you by attempting to stop
the placenta of pain from showing her face
in the mirrors of will.
Soon, the crystal of your body
will give way to the catastrophe of confinement,
and the silhouette that names you will be a specter
under the sun of fabulations.
Do not shy away yet, timorous Emily!
This coffee is but a pretext,
one last attempt to embed you in the memory
render your wounded splendor beyond absence,
the timeless amphora where you hide your fears,
the hardships you dare not speak of.
Último café con Emily Dickinson
el valor de sufrir como el valor de la muerte
se conoce probándolo—Emily Dickinson
Siéntate a mi lado, Emily, bebamos
juntos esta taza de café, antes que los
abejorros de la muerte comiencen su
danza irrevocable, y el silencio
imponga su costra sobre nuestras
vidas. Este sabor amargo y místico
nos calienta los labios y espanta la
monotonía de la tarde. No dejemos
que florezcan los pistilos de la
paranoia: háblame de tus amores
secretos, de los astros, y esos versos
donde escondes la verdad más tuya.
No te alejes todavía, este brebaje nos
convida y en los arcanos de su aroma
somos dos juglares que aun respiran.
¿Cuáles criaturas te obligan
al claustro y apagan tus estrellas más
altivas? Ahora soy el lado tierno de
los esteros, la poca luz en tu isla del
recelo, y te invoco procurando que la
placenta del dolor no asome su rostro
en los espejos de la voluntad. Pronto
el cristal de tu cuerpo cederá frente a
la catástrofe del encierro, y la silueta
que te nombra será un espectro bajo
el sol de las fabulaciones. No
rehúyas, temerosa Emily, este café es
un pretexto, el último intento de
trenzarte en la memoria, para que tu
ausencia no sea solo un herido
esplendor, el ánfora sin tiempo donde
escondes tus temores, esas penurias
que a nadie te atreves a contar.
Bio:
Mihlo Montenegro (Havana,1982) Poet, author, and journalist. Bachelor of Psychology, University of Havana. Winner of the literary awards; Pinos Nuevos National Award (2017), XXII Poetry Award Prometheus Creative Scholarship La Gaceta de Cuba. National Poetry Award Francisco Mir Mulet (2020), International Poetry Contest, El mundo lleva alas, USA, (2020), National Poetry Award, José Jacinto Milanés (2021). Among his published works are “Erosiones” (Poetry, 2017), Las inocentes
(Fiction, 2020), Fracturas (Poetry, 2021), and Agora (Poetic Anthology, 2021.) He worked with the poet, Osmán Avilés in the selection, Impertinencia de las Dípteras. Antología poética sobre la mosca (Ediciones, Exodus. USA, 2019.)
Translation by ©Lidice Megla
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