Maureen Altman
Hay en tus espacios, unos míos
Hay en tus espacios
unos míos.
Hay tanto de ti
en la profundidad de mí.
A veces nos veo
como ríos,
surcamos las entrañas
de la tierra.
Otras pinto
extensiones de nosotras
en los amplios cielos
de un atardecer
que invita.
Nos ha visitado
el descanso
en contadas ocasiones,
pero éste ha sido profundo
cual espiral
que siempre empieza de nuevo
desde una plataforma distinta.
Nos basta
el eco de un caracol
en tiempo presente
y allí estamos.
Como él,
te muestras en tus surcos,
y tus huellas entienden
la danza del tiempo,
justo
cuando yo capturo
el susurro
de aquello que permanece.
Solías juntar caracoles,
creía que era por su belleza externa.
Hoy,
ésta suelta una risita
porque
siempre hubo música
en nosotras.
There are in your spaces, some of mine
There are in your spaces
some of mine.
There is so much
of you in the depth of me.
Sometimes,
I see us like a river,
we plow through
the core of the earth.
Other times,
I paint extensions of us
on wide open skies
inviting us
at sunset.
Rest
has visited us
very few times.
It was profound
like a spiral,
always starting again
from a different platform.
Now,
the echo of a shell
is enough
to take us there.
Like the shell,
you emerge within furrows
and your footprints understand
the dance of time,
just
as I catch
the murmur
of what will last.
You used to collect shells.
I thought that it was due
to their beautiful surface.
Today,
beauty is snickering
because
there was always music
in us.
Translated by Maureen Altman and Elizabeth Lara
Photo Credit – Reiko Yanagi
Maureen Altman is an artist, poet, and educator whose work has appeared in anthologies and literary journals. She has participated in book fairs and poetry festivals in North and Central America. Books published in New York include Encuentro, amor, vida, tiempo (2014) and Nuances (2017). Altman was born in Georgia, USA. She studied at the National Pedagogical Institute and National School of Fine Arts in Lima, Peru; and at Pratt Institute (BFA) and Touro College (MS, Education and Special Education) in New York.