Three Poems by Rubén Merriwether Peña (translated from the Chilean Spanish by David Rock)

 

I’m Pretty Sure I Saw You

 

I’m pretty sure I saw you
at the end of the world,
trembling under the weight of your perfections.
Your endless eyes like a wellspring
of second guesses, trompe l’oeil of Venus
eclipsing everything.

I’m pretty sure I saw you
on the road to tomorrow,
going the other way, farm girl of these
my most fruitful illusions, patroness of hunters
with empty hands.

I’m pretty sure I saw you
kneeling in the church
of a misguided God, confessing a sadness
you felt too late—a tempting morsel expiring
on your tongue, a beatific finch
with tiny bones.

 

***

 

Creo que te vi

 

Creo que te vi
parada en el fin del mundo,
temblando bajo el peso de tus perfecciones.
Tus ojos sin fin como una fuente de adivinanzas
malogradas, trompe l’oeil de Venus
eclipsando todo.

Creo que te vi
en la carretera hacia el futuro,
yendo en el sentido contrario, agricultora de éstas
mis más fructíferas ilusiones, patrona de cazadores
que no aciertan.

Creo que te vi
de rodillas en el santuario
de un Dios descaminado, confesando una tristeza
que no sentiste a tiempo—rico manjar expirando
en tu lengua, un beatífico jilguero
con huesecitos.

 

*** *** ***

 

Balloon Man after Dark

 

To hide from the rain, I know
I can always find a rainbow-colored awning.

Flowers for Mary, the one with no surname.
Virgin, patroness of those who walk the streets
after dark,

I accuse myself
of having had a few unspent coins
in my pocket.

 

***

 

Un vendedor de globos, muy de noche

 

Contra la lluvia, sé dónde hay un toldo
color de arco iris.

Flores para María sin apellido.
Virgen, santa patrona de los transeúntes
muy de noche,

me acuso
de haber tenido algunas monedas
en el bolsillo.

 

*** *** ***

 

 

 

Neues Museum: A Parable

 

For me it was all about the sky:

lightning in a cloud—a metaphor
for how I elbowed my way in

to catch a glimpse of Nefertiti.

 

***

 

Neues Museum: Una parábola

 

Para mí, todo se trataba del cielo:

un relámpago en una nube—metáfora
de cómo luché para abrir paso

a fin de ver de cerca a Nefertiti.

 

 

 

 

*** *** ***

 

 

Rubén Merriwether Peña holds a doctorate in literature from Penn State University. His academic research focuses on Vicente Huidobro’s “creacionismo” and other Spanish-American and Luso-Brazilian avant-garde movements of the early 20th Century. A laureate of the Instituto de Estudios Vallejianos, Peña’s creative work appears in the United States in journals such as Linden Lane Magazine, Chasqui, La Marca Hispánica, The Bitter Oleander, and Guernica.

David Rock has poems and translations appearing in The Carolina Quarterly, The Laurel Review, Tampa Review, Hotel Amerika, Image, and many other journals. He teaches Spanish and international studies at Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg.

Photography by David Rock.