disagreement
translated from the Spanish by Andrés Fernández
(to my sister)
(the deafening
sound
of the sea
comes
between
us both)
I say to her:
I think
we're
drowned
she replies:
no
We're not
drowned
I say to her:
we're lying
side by side
at the bottom
of the sea
she replies:
no
We are standing
on the shore
I say to her:
I truly
believe
we've
already drowned
she replies:
no
We are
breathing
just fine
I say to her:
for me
no
air
comes
in
she replies:
I have air
for both of us
desacuerdo
(a mi hermana)
(el rugido
ensordecedor
del mar
se interpone
entre
las dos)
yo le digo:
creo
que estamos
ahogadas
ella responde:
no
No estamos
ahogadas
yo le digo:
yacemos
a la par
en el fondo
del mar
ella responde:
no
Estamos de pie
en la orilla
yo le digo:
de verdad
creo
que ya
nos ahogamos
ella responde:
no
Estamos
respirando
muy bien
yo le digo:
a mí
no
me
entra
aire
ella responde:
Yo tengo aire
para las dos
Copyright © 2025 by María Auxiliadora Álvarez. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 29, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets.
“I wrote the poem at the end of a summer I spent with my sister on the Italian coast. We [had] been separated for almost three decades because she was living in Rome while I was living in Ohio. So there was a real geographical sea between us, underlying the poem’s main metaphor and its whole symbolism. Writing the poem was my way of thanking her for her support during the difficult times of my life. It’s a poem of gratitude.”
—María Auxiliadora Álvarez