Today the skeletons occupied the city
they seized thousands of faces
promenading their smiles all over.
I saw my grandmother Elena in the body of a boy
playing the tambourine without stopping,
I saw Maria, my mother,
in the body of a girl dancing with open arms.
(((a snail fell____s_l_o_w_l_y____inside my body)))
Today the bodies have forgotten fear
today the bones are the best weapons
to occupy the skin that enfolds us.
I have seen my grandfathers Carlos Maria and Fernando,
who in life never knew each other ,
they walked the streets embracing half drunk
giving out marigolds to each woman with a face painted as a skull
who they met along their way,
and I saw my Aunt Luz
she was a feathered girl in the fury of the Aztec Dance.
(((now my body falls____s_l_o_w_l_y____inside a snail)))
Today the bodies have forgotten their pains
and the bones have occupied their place in the barrio.
I have seen my Aunt Ilda painting flowers on the faces of children.
Finally I saw my grandmother Maria
she stared at me with her smooth baby face
she held out her hand like this …
and smiled at me while she said something in baby talk
that surely meant “bye bye”
(((now my body at last occupies my body)))
Translation by Nina Serrano
© Adrian Arias 2011
image: "Jamille" by Adrian
