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

Credit

Copyright © 2025 by María Auxiliadora Álvarez. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 29, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets.

About this Poem

“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