I Give You My Heart
I find myself on my feet with fifteen leaves.
Everything carries its own light on the walls.
I woke up being hit. The afternoon,
suffocating as the death of cows. My heart
was opened between cemeteries of moon.
The parasites. The drizzle. The mud crowning
the undergrowth with immense sadness.
I knew death when I dressed
in my uniform.
I found the index of solitude: my country in its legal
jargon, its piety, its fiction—
Yes. It loves me, really.
I give my blood as the blood of all fish.
Os doy mi corazón
Me encuentro de pie con quince hojas.
Brilla todo en los muros.
Desperté al ser golpeado. La tarde,
asfixiante como la muerte de vacas. Mi corazón
lo abrían entre cementerios de luna.
Los parásitos. La llovizna. El lodo coronando
la maleza con mustios grandes.
Supe de la muerte al vestir
de uniforme.
Encontré el índice de soledad: mi país en su jerga
legal, su piedad, su ficción—
Sí. Me quiere, de verdad.
Doy mi sangre como la sangre de todos los peces.
From The Life Assignment (Four Way Books, 2020) by Ricardo Alberto Maldonado. Copyright © 2020 by Ricardo Alberto Maldonado. Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC, on behalf of Four Way Books.
Ricardo Alberto Maldonado
Ricardo Alberto Maldonado was born and raised in Puerto Rico. A graduate of Tufts and Columbia University’s School of the Arts, he is the author of The Life Assignment (Four Way Books, 2020), a finalist for the Poetry Society of America’s Norma Farber First Book Award, one of Remezcla’s Best Books by Latina or Latin American Authors, and Silver Medalist for the Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award.