A Poem about the Sea
I Didn't Want to Say Blue by Juan Pablo Vieytez
You can blink and imagine
the motion of a belly dancer,
the executioner’s eyes,
or the haze of distance, if you like.
I didn’t want to say
blue: there is so much
we hand out anyway:
our bodies, credit card
numbers, secrets
on the telephone. Pick it up
and already your name is carried
out by the tide
to a distant country,
where bananas and camarones
are sold at the intersections.
But this was going to be a poem
about the sea,
the way the dark
shadows across the water
warm by belly
back into song.
Nothing is impossible for words.
Give a child a coin
and you can hear the “gracias”
slip in and out of you
like a knife: words
here will never be as strong
as the empty hand in the street.
Faces in the rain
pressed like wet leaves
against your window
remind you
all dreams are possible.
Comments are closed.
Excellent…
Hello. I hope this finds you well. Your comment is certainly appreciated. This poem has been sitting around for more than ten years, seen by only a few, thus it was nice to show it the light of day and then find your comment. If you are interested, the photo is from El Salvador, and the poem was written while I was living down there.
This is one of my favorites so far! Brilliantly done! I especially enjoy:
Faces in the rain
pressed like wet leaves
against your window
remind you
all dreams are possible.
Very strong finish!
I love this poem, and I feel so happy you still remember El Salvador,
you’re the best writer ,congratulation!