I dance like that cherry tree branch
where midday lingers.
I want to touch the wind,
turn blue when the rain dies down,
and listen to your steps toward my root.
The reflection of the moon whispers,
wrapping me in its voice:
“It will arrive late on the sidewalk
and turn into only a shadow that refreshes.
Its steps will be hare,
incessant time will make autumn.”
I imagine then I will cry
until I become an incandescent carpet.
I will be firewood,
creak
like thunder,
and sing my agony in each ember.
I will be vertigo of light,
incandescence of oblivion.
I won’t be a lie
firewood, vertigo, or oblivion
because today
I’m a cherry tree branch
touching the wind.
*
Danzo como esa rama del cerezo
de la que cuelga el mediodía.
Quiero tocar el viento
ser azul cuando amaine la lluvia
escuchar tus pasos con rumbo a mi raíz.
El reflejo de la luna susurra
abrazándome con su voz:
«llegará tarde a la vereda,
será sólo sombra que refresca,
sus pasos serán liebre,
el tiempo sin detenerse hará el otoño».
Imagino que entonces lloraré
hasta ser una alfombra incandescente,
seré leña,
crujiré,
con la intención del trueno
cantaré en cada brasa mi agonía.
Seré vértigo de luz,
incandescencia del olvido.
Mentira, no seré
lena, ni vértigo, ni olvido,
porque hoy
soy una rama del cerezo
y toco el viento.
Isolda Dosamantes was born in 1969 in Tlaxcala, Mexico, where she lives with her painter husband Katsumi Kurosaki and their son. She is the author of several collections of poetry, including Paisaje sobre la seda (2008), Apuntes de viaje (2012), and Después del hambre (2017). Her poetry can also be found in venues such as AMP, The Bitter Oleander, and La Canasta.
Toshiya Kamei holds an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Arkansas. His translations of Latin American literature include My Father Thinks I’m a Fakir by Claudia Apablaza, Silent Herons by Selfa Chew, and The Torments of Aristarco by Ana García Bergua.
