John Ashbery
No es excusa la ignorancia de la ley
Versión de Juan Carlos Villavicencio
Nos advirtieron de las arañas y la hambruna ocasional.
Condujimos al centro para ver a nuestros vecinos. Ninguno estaba en casa.
Fuimos instalados en jardines creados por la municipalidad,
reminiscencia de otros diferentes lugares–
¿pero lo eran? ¿No los conocíamos de antes?
En viñedos donde el himno de la abeja ahoga la monotonía,
dormimos buscando paz, uniéndonos a la gran carrera.
Él se me acercó.
Todo fue como siempre ha sido,
excepto por el peso del presente,
que hizo naufragar el pacto que habíamos hecho con el cielo.
De verdad no había motivo de regocijo,
ni tampoco necesidad de dar media vuelta.
Estábamos perdidos sólo por estar ahí,
escuchando el zumbido de los cables allá arriba.
Lloramos la partida de esa meritocracia que, brutalmente vibrante,
había mantenido leche en el vaso y comida sobre la mesa.
A la usanza de barrio de mala muerte, destartalados
volvimos caminando al cristal de roca original en que él se había convertido,
todo preocupación, todo miedo por nosotros.
Bajamos con cuidado
hasta el último escalón. Ahí puedes afligirte y respirar,
enjuagar tus pertenencias en la helada fuente.
Tan sólo ten cuidado con los osos y lobos que la frecuentan
y la sombra que se acerca cuando esperas el amanecer.
Where Shall I Wander, 2005
Ignorance of the law is no excuse
by John Ashbery
We were warned about spiders, and the occasional famine.
We drove downtown to see our neighbors. None of them were home.
We nestled in yards the municipality had created,
reminisced about other, different places—
but were they? Hadn't we known it all before?
In vineyards where the bee's hymn drowns the monotony,
we slept for peace, joining in the great run.
He came up to me.
It was all as it had been,
except for the weight of the present,
that scuttled the pact we had made with heaven.
In truth there was no cause for rejoicing,
nor need to turn around, either.
except for the weight of the present,
that scuttled the pact we had made with heaven.
In truth there was no cause for rejoicing,
nor need to turn around, either.
We were lost just by standing,
listening to the hum of wires overhead.
We mourned that meritocracy which, wildly vibrant,
had kept food on the table and milk in the glass.
In skid-row, slapdash style
we walked back to the original rock crystal he had become,
all concern, all fears for us.
We went down gently
to the bottom-most step. There you can grieve and breathe,
rinse your possessions in the chilly spring.
Only beware the bears and wolves that frequent it
and the shadow that comes when you expect dawn.
listening to the hum of wires overhead.
We mourned that meritocracy which, wildly vibrant,
had kept food on the table and milk in the glass.
In skid-row, slapdash style
we walked back to the original rock crystal he had become,
all concern, all fears for us.
We went down gently
to the bottom-most step. There you can grieve and breathe,
rinse your possessions in the chilly spring.
Only beware the bears and wolves that frequent it
and the shadow that comes when you expect dawn.
DE OTROS MUNDOS
KISS
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