Like a dragonfly shimmering within a jar, such is the woman held by your gaze. From her open hands there blossoms three flames. Petals that turn into thorns, thorns that turn into amethysts. At this hour, the violet of gasoline is the most sensible perfume; fire encircles the drawings of her body: mandorla. Slowly, the flame crosses her soul, which is ours as well. Lights respond to the tongue’s sweet beckoning. In silence, the union ascends. Breath is a light. It is fitting that this fire never be extinguished.
Such is what I witnessed on the island that evaporates at dawn.
Translated from Spanish by Anthony Seidman.
GASPAR OROZCO was born in Chihuahua, Mexico in 1971. The most recent of his seven books of poetry are Autocinema and, with Brooklyn artist H.U. Lian, Game of Mirrors, an interactive e-book with English and Chinese translations. Two of his books have been translated by Mark Weiss: Notas del país de Z (bilingual) and Memorial de la peonía (bilingual). He has translated poetry into Spanish from English and Chinese. He was part of the punk rock group, Revolución X, and co-directed the documentary Subterraneans, about New York’s subway norteño musicians.