“cool confessional garden rockabilly kit[s]chen
erotic poem no. 1”

By Nicole Cecilia Delgado

Translated by Sarah Pazen

 

 

 

 

 

 

cool confessional garden rockabilly kit[s]chen erotic poem no. 1
(ars caotika)

for Maya Pastor 

 

 

 

at this point
i prefer choosing words that sound like an anklet
with a colorful belt

i don’t wanna put
my cacophonous thoughts
my intuitions of solidarity
out on a sidewalk sale

cuz yesterday i was a classroom guerrillera and it didn’t do any good
History’s boot pinned me against the floor
just like everyone else was

i tried getting into
less reliable translations
of anime
but i doubted my own judgment

i’m gonna confess
i put that che t-shirt on
not cuz i still believed too much
it was a gift from a tall ex
and i cut the neck and sleeves
(conceited)

nothing but viscera i never visited any firing range
but i wrote under the lights and colors of the flares
the night the marines poisoned Gilberto

i admit i didn’t throw any food
in the cafeteria foodfight, my love
never had a great shot

yesterday we looked up synonyms
for example: jelly preserves marmalade
then i needed my viscous questions:
000000when will waistlines stop controlling us
000000why do organic labels exist in supermarkets
000000how many nights will Janis take us out in her mercedes
000000how many Mercedes do i know at this point
000000when will i go back for the fruits at La Merced market

later, Anaïs’ll say these are stuttering Sunday doubts
Eva’ll cook the garbanzos for dinner
and the napkin’ll go dance cumbia in the garden

i met
the Virgin Mary and i can assure you
she levitates
decepti/slowly

the first time
i saw her motion in a photo it was a miracle
the highschoolers were ecstatic, chosen

she said she called from a payphone
shaped like god’s cock
i write pussysyrup and everything gets wet
i like stringing beads on fishing line
i trust chance like a crazy blind woman

today i wandered through my neighborhood and concluded
the early morning rarely hears me laughing
the landlord warned me after twelve
the bathroom wastes water

i try to grasp the figures of speech, the time, and the insomnia
we spend most of the night talking about poetry and the past

give me earrings made of ants and leaves
acetone, hair gel
literary suicides
i’ve got tachycardia and my stomach rumbles
i’m surprised this thunder doesn’t mention the sea

my poem’s a dirty mirror
tomorrow i’ll do my hair differently

 

 

from Poemas para megáfono (París Volcán, 2012/Editorial EDP University, 2015)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cool confessional garden rockabilly kit[s]chen erotic poem no. 1
(ars caotika)

para Mara Pastor

 

a estas alturas
prefiero elegir palabras que suenen a pulsera para el pie
a correa de colores

no quiero que saquen a venta de pasillo
mis presentimientos cacofónicos
mis intuiciones solidarias

porque ayer fui guerrillera de salón y no sirvió de nada
me aplastó el zapato de la Historia contra el piso
como a todo mundo

traté de interesarme
por las traducciones menos confiables
de caricaturas japonesas
y descubrí dudoso mi criterio

voy a confesarte
que me ponía esa camiseta del che
no porque creyera todavía demasiado
me la regaló un exnovio alto
y yo le corté el cuello y las mangas
(vanidosa)

toda víscera nunca visité el polígono de tiro
pero escribí bajo el color de luces de bengala
la noche que a Gilberto lo envenenaron los marinos

admito que no tiré comida
en la guerra del comedor escolar, mi amor
no tuvo nunca certeza de disparo

ayer buscábamos sinónimos
por ejemplo: jalea conservas mermelada

entonces necesité mis preguntas viscosas:
000000cuándo dejará de controlarnos el perímetro de las caderas
000000por qué existen etiquetas orgánicas en los supermercados
000000cuántas noches Janis va a llevarnos de paseo en su mercedes
000000cuántas Mercedes conocí hasta ahora
000000cuándo volveré a las frutas del mercado La Merced

luego, Anaïs dirá que ésas son dudas tartamudas de domingo
Eva pondrá a cocer los garbanzos de la cena
y la servilleta bailará una cumbia en el jardín

conocí
a la virgen María y puedo asegurarte que levita
fraudu/lentamente

la primera vez
la vi agitarse en una foto y fue un milagro
los niños del colegio delirábamos contentos, elegidos

ella dice que llama de un teléfono público
que tiene la forma del pene de dios
escribo chochamelcocha y todo se humedece
me gusta ensartar cuentas en hilo de pescar
confío en el azar como una loca ciega

hoy caminé tarde por el barrio y concluí
que pocas veces me oye reír la madrugada
la dueña de la casa me avisó que el baño
desperdicia agua después de las doce

intento asir los rasgos del discurso, el tiempo y el desvelo
llevamos mucha noche hablando de pasado y de poesía

préstame tus aretes de hoja de hormiga
acetona, fijador para el cabello
suicidios literarios
tengo taquicardia y me suena la barriga
me sorprende que este trueno no mencione el mar

mi poema es un espejo sucio
mañana me peinaré de otra manera

de Poemas para megáfono (París Volcán, 2012/Editorial EDP University, 2015)

 

 

 

Nicole Cecilia Delgado is a Puerto Rican poet, translator, and book artist. In 2016, she founded La Impresora, an editorial studio specialized in small-scale independent publishing. Her latest books include: Apenas un cántaro: Poemas 2007-2017 (Ediciones Aguadulce, 2017), and Periodo especial (Aguadulce/La Impresora, 2019), which explores the socioeconomic mirror images between the Greater Antilles in light of Puerto Rico’s ongoing financial crisis. Delgado is widely regarded as one of the leading Puerto Rican poets of her generation, and as a cultural worker bringing together artists, activists, and writers from across the Americas. http://www.nicolececiliadelgado.blogspot.com

Sarah Pazen is a poet, translator, and visual artist from Chicago, Illinois. Her work has appeared in EX/POST Magazine, The Tulane Review, Packingtown Review, A medio camino, and more. She is currently an undergraduate at Kenyon College where she is in her senior year studying Modern Languages and Literatures. In addition to working as the Visual Art and Design Intern at the Kenyon Review, she is the co-editor-in-chief of HIKA Magazine and a book designer for Sunset Press. She can be found on Twitter @COPINGSKILLS

 

Poesía en acción is an Action Books blog feature for Latin American and Spanish poetry in translation and the translator micro-interview series. It was created by Katherine M. Hedeen and is currently curated and edited by Olivia Lott with web editing by Paul Cunningham.