Saturday, September 21, 2019

A Ghost All Too Familiar


Goodbye Youth
By: Rodolfo Perez

There’s a breeze I feel.
It kisses my neck and I turn,
But there is nothing there.
A soothing voice calls me,
It graces my ears with its familiarity,
But there is no one speaking to me.
The warmth of an embrace I grasp.
It envelopes me, and I reach out,
But my arms wrap around nothing.
I open my eyes, and I see a ghost.
It looks like me.
It smiles a smile all to intimate,
And all too forgotten.
-
-
I close my eyes.
I say,
“Con la mandíbula de un burro,
He hecho burros de ellos.
Con la quijada de un burro,
He matado a mil hombres.”
-
-
I have lost my youth,
But I am not old.
I have lost my innocence,
But I am not bitter.
I have lost my anticipation for the better,
But I am not unhappy.
I am breathing,
I am alive,
And I am trying.