The truth is that I fall in love
so easily because
it's easy.
It happens
a dozen times some days.
I've lived whole lives,
had children,
grown old, and died
in the arms of other women
in no more time
than it takes the 2-train
to get from City Hall to Brooklyn,
which brings me back
to you: the only one
I fall in love with
at least once every day—
not because
there are no other
lovely women in the world,
but because each time,
dying in their arms,
I call your name.
From Boy (University of Georgia Press, 2008). Copyright © 2008 by Patrick Phillips. Used with permission of University Georgia Press.
translated by Francisco Aragón
your eyes show me how to see again
like mirrors of water, understanding all,
there’s no mystery they can’t solve—
a single glance is more than enough
your eyes see, listen, touch, speak.
are beacons on the horizon
shedding light on shades of life
beyond the reach of words
so I start to read your body,
pausing at every mole, as if
they were commas or periods
how I love to scribble on your chest,
use the muscles on your back as lines—
you and I are both page and pen
Sonetos a la locura y otras penas, III
tus ojos me enseñan de nuevo a ver
como espejos de agua todo lo entienden,
no hay enigma que no puedan descifrar
pues le basta y sobra una mirada
tus ojos ven, escuchan, tocan, hablan,
son faros de luz que en el horizonte
alumbran la realidad de la vida
que queda más allá de las palabras
ahora me pongo a recorrer tu cuerpo,
le doy lectura a cada lunar tuyo
como signo de pausa y punctuación
cómo me gusta escribir en tu pecho,
tener por renglones a tus dorsales:
tú y yo somos tan pluma como página
From From the Other Side of Night/del otro lado de la noche: New and Selected Poems by Francisco X. Alarcón. © 2002 The Arizona Board of Regents. Reprinted by permission of the University of Arizona Press.