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From: Vol.07 N.02 – Writing in the Pause

Canto ciego / Blindsong

by Alfonso D’Aquino

Unintelligible

deep

re-

verse

of all that’s been said

in those imprecise confines

of the unseen

And like one vision inside another I saw

some formless form of blue light

like another insomniac shadow

its reflection illuminating the skin

of an iridescent lake

below the torches and stars

 

Air run-

ny

with the forgotten colors of things

dis-

illusory

un-

discernable

turning in-

visibly crystal-lined

in the inverted lake of insomnia

in the petrified reflection of its trees

among which I wander without moving

in the vain unsubstantive

night

stony in its near ir-

reality

 

A hollow uni-

verse inside a hol-

low universe

without ti-

me or s-

pace

a double void

neither lip nor bone

 

At time’s bore-hole no shadow

blood and broken

glasses

the raging flower of sunset

the end of a vision

a snuffed reflection among thousands of reflections

that irrepeat each gesture

inside the hole that remains

like an eye gouged out

a cardinal cloud

radiates and slides

behind the eyelids

 

The light I touch

in the middle of the night

my eyes deep-sunk in stone

ex tincture

nothing floats over

nothing transparentizing

water

 

*

 

Ininteligible

profundo

re-

verso

de todo lo dicho

en el impreciso confín

de lo no visto

 

Y como una visión dentro de otra vi

aquella forma informe de luz azulina

como otra sombra insomne

que iluminara con su reflejo la piel de un lago

irisándose

bajo las antorchas y los astros

 

Aire des-

teñido

con los colores olvidados de las cosas

des-

ilusorio

in-

aparente

va tornándose in-

visiblemente cristal-y-no

en el lago inverso del insomnio

en el reflejo petrificado de sus árboles

entre los que deambulo sin moverme

en la noche vana

insustantiva

pétrea en su cercana i-

realidad

 

Un universo hue-

co dentro de un uni-

verso hueco

sin ti

-empo ni es

-pacio

un doble vacío

ni hueso ni labio

 

A la hora dada sombra ida

sangre y vidrios

rotos

la flor rabiosa del ocaso

el fin de una visión

apagado reflejo entre miles de reflejos

que irrepiten cada gesto

en el hueco que queda

como un ojo arrancado

cárdena nube

irradia y oculta

tras los párpados

La luz toco

en medio de la noche

desde los ojos hundidos en la piedra

ex tinta

nada sobre-

nada transparenta

el agua

Translated by:

Forrest Gander, a writer and translator with degrees in geology and literature, was born in the Mojave Desert and lives in California. Gander’s book Be With won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize; a new title, Twice Alive, is forthcoming in 2021. Among his many translations is Fungus Skull Eye Wing by Alfonso D’Aquino

Published: October 2020
Alfonso D’Aquino

(Mexico, 1959). His publications include the following poetry collections: Prosfisia (Premio Carlos Pellicer 1981), piedra no piedra (1992), Tanagra (1996), Naranja verde (1996, reissued 2002), Briznas (1997), Víbora breve (1999), Basilisco (2001), Astro Labio (2011) and fungus skull eye wing, translated by Forrest Gander (Copper Canyon Press, 2013). As translator, he published the anthology Eiko & Koma y otros poemas by Forrest Gander (2013). Presently he is the director of Odradek Editions.

An Australian and international
journal of ecopoetry and ecopoetics.

Plumwood Mountain Journal is created on the unceded lands of the Gadigal and Wangal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to elders past, present and future. We also acknowledge all traditional custodians of the lands this journal reaches.

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