PIETÀ
i am asking permission to die a little
to tear your membrane
to expel you from my uterus
you will never suffer
the weight of light
nor the wounds of a scream
you will be
my most beloved exile
you will be the air that nourishes
my garden of shadows
PIEDAD
pido permiso para morir un poco
para romper tu membrana
para expulsarte del útero
no padecerás jamás
el peso de la luz
ni las heridas del grito
serás
mi más amado desterrado
serás el aire que sostiene
mi jardín de sombras
FIRST POEM
what was your voice like
before you could speak?
POEMA INICIAL
¿cómo era tu voz
antes de que hablaras?
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
it is necessary
to plow the not saying
make the image
a thread suspended
between broken syllables
VOLVER AL ORIGEN
es preciso
arar el no decir
hacer de la imagen
un hilo suspendido
entre sílabas rotas
MADELINE KWASNICK is a literary translator from Charlottesville, Virginia. She recently graduated from Kenyon College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in modern languages and literatures and international studies. Currently, she works as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at the National University of Colombia in Bogota.
MARGARITA LOSADA VARGAS (Neiva, Colombia, 1983) is the author of Mejor Arder (Better to Burn, 2013, Común Presencia Editores) and Impermanencia (Impermanence, 2019, Raffaelli Editore), as well as co-author of La Persistencia de lo Inútil (Persistence of the Useless, 2016, Trilce Editores) and Ultimas Palabras (Last Words, 2021, Ediciones Exilio). She is also the creator of the online poetry platform www.lugarpoema.com. She currently researches the relationships between poetry and psychosis, writes poems, and sings in a punk rock band.
