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Dark Poem
by Oscar Martínez
I like your cranium,
how beautiful it must be devoid of flesh
dispossessed of its artificial
smile
standing over it
a handsome crow
caresses its narrow curvature
with its feet...
I too feel like that,
you know?
tonight the moon fell,
and only a piece remained
hanging from the coldness
of a frigid night:
rapscallion,
your parietal lobe
is intact in my hand
I suppose that a sorcerer
knew of my desires,
all the same
a black beast
murmuring in my ear
told me that he knew
the night
tonight the moon shut itself up
and spoke of you no more
oh how I love your cranium!
12/04/2002 Author's Note: Translation to English by David E.J. Perez
Posted on 12/05/2002
Copyright © 2023 Oscar Martínez
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 12/05/02 at 05:49 PM Really enjoyed how this poem penetrated and crawled underneath my skin. Give yourself and David a pat on the back. |
| Posted by Maryellen Lebeda-Parra on 11/04/03 at 07:08 PM wow. just wow. |
| Posted by Kathleen Wilson on 10/01/07 at 03:08 PM Unusual from beginning to end, with strong atmosphere, the poetic feeling and images intense and subtle. Amazing first line. The fact that the crow is a not just a crow "handsome crow" reveals a keeness of observation and power of language to express it. Then the the crow
"caresses its [your cranium's] narrow curvature
with its feet"... really amazing to me in detail --and then to go even beyond--to say "I too feel like that,
you know?" beautiful transition and illustration
and then the intimate question...this is just one small part of why I see great beauty in the poem. I love the way the moon "fell" with only "a piece left"... this is just wonderful poetic writing. |
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