“The Dream”
Translation by E. Rose
The Dream
The Dream VII
Every time I leave you I keep the splendor of your last Gaze is my eyes. And, then, I run to lock
myself up, I turn off the lights, I evade all sound so that nothing robs an atom from me of the
ethereal substance of your Gaze, its infinite sweetness, its limpid diffidence, its delicate rapture.
All night long, with the rosy tips of my fingers, I caress the eyes that gazed upon you.
The Dream XIII
Ringing of the bells, rude ringing of the bells:
At this hour you pierce my soul and startle my delicate thoughts of love.
The Dream XV
I put my hands across my heart and feel how it beats in despair. “Who are you?” And it answers
me: “Tear open your chest, sprout wings, pierce through the walls, traverse the houses, fly, wild,
across the city, find her, hollow out her chest and join me to her heart.”
________________________________________________________________________
Original by Alfonsina Storni
El Ensueño
El ensueño VI
Cada vez que te dejo retengo en mis ojos el resplandor de tu última Mirada. Y, entonces, corro a
encerrarme, apago las luces, evito todo ruido para que nada me robe un átomo de la substancia
etérea de tu Mirada, su infinita dulzura, su límpida timidez, su fino arrobamiento. Toda la noche,
con la yema rosada de los dedos, acaricio los ojos que te miraron.
El ensueño XIII
Tañido de campanas, grosero tañido de campanas: Herís mi alma y asustáis en esta hora mis finos
pensamientos de amor.
El ensueño XV
Pongo las manos sobre mi corazón y siento que late desesperado.
– ¿Quién eres tú?
Y me contesta: -Romper tu pecho, echar alas, agujerear las paredes, atravesar las casas, volar, loco,
a través de la ciudad, econtrarle, ahuecar su pecho y juntarme al suyo.
_______________________________________________________________________
E. Rose
E. Rose is a student in the M.A. program in Translation Studies at the University of Illinois, with a focus in literary translation. She is also a language teacher and translator, working from German and Spanish. She loves poetry and is particularly interested in exploring expressions of gender socialization and queer experiences in literature.
Alfonsina Storni
Alfonsina Storni (1892-1938) was born in Switzerland and spent most of her life in Argentina. Her book Languidez was awarded the First Municipal Poetry Prize and the second National Literature Prize. During her time, her writing did not fit into any genre, and she was criticized for her atypical style, which is often now labeled postmodern. Poemas de amor, one of her lesser known collections of poetry, was created in the Porter Hermanos workshops in Buenos Aires in 1926. It is considered her only prose poetry work. The work is presented in four parts: El ensueño, Plenitud, Agonía, and Noche.