Feb 15
Who is in the dark houses?
by Irma Pineda, translated by Priya Venkatesan
I.
The houses in this village
have worn out eyes.
they are looking for sand-bits on the beach.
our heads, the morning sun, el agua de los ríos
our clay-burnt hair speckled in soft & bold & red & black shades
are no more light, no more gold.
Who lives underneath the pink and yellow roofs?
Who is in the dark houses?
II.
My village does not have a visible artery.
it does not pulse to the sound of the
the blue-green mountains
the roosters painted in red
the pathway that leads to my sea somber village.
Why do they all have a small one-mouth door agape
with no roof tile hair illuminating their caras?
III.
The air is filled with moon & dust & wisps & corazons
Even the robbers and their antics are left with nothing to steal, nothing to preach.
did the unmistakable silence
Scare away the brown dogs and the small birds?
where did the people and the children and his soft mouth go?
Where in this village does my first lover contain mi familia, su hija?
