Excerpt from: The Flag of Chile
. No one has said a word about the flag of Chile
. about its nobility its cloth
. about its rectangular desert
. They haven’t proclaimed
. the Flag of Chile
. missing
. The flag of Chile says nothing about itself
. it reads itself in a round pocket mirror
. it gleams delayed in time like an echo
. there’s a lot of broken glass
. smashed like the lines in an open hand
. it reads itself
. seeking stones for its desire
. …………………………………………..
. They order the Flag of Chile to its mast-tip
. and this its fa tes and mo
. because of bric undula ves
. cause of spect
. and be this they re it
. ……………………………………………
. The Flag of Chile is measured in square meters
. its smell measured by twitches of the nose
. it’s measured by eyes so blind to its facets of light and shadow
. by patience for its diarrheas
. the construction of malnourished trust
. The Flag of Chile is hung between two buildings
. its banner inflated like an ulcerated belly
. — it falls like an old teat —
. like a circus tent
. Legs in the air, slit up the middle
. a little snatch for the open air
. a little hole for the ashes of General O’Higgins
. or an eye for the Avenue of General Bulnes
. The Flag of Chile lies on its side
. forgotten
. ……………………………………………………………..
. The Flag of Chile doesn’t sell itself
. they may cut off its lights they may leave without
. water
. they may crush its ribs with sharp kicks
. The flag is something like a decoy that resists
. they’re worthless, the judges’ sentences
. the calloused ropes that hoist it up
. The Flag of Chile is end to end
. ………………………………………..
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. hoist lower
. in the routine the Flag of Chile loses heart
. and surrenders
Poetry book for people who just started reading poetry today and those who have read miles of it. Very good buy.
The Oxford Book of Latin American poetry, a bilingual anthology, ed. Cecilia Vicuña and Ernesto Livon-Grosman.
USED: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&tn=The+Oxford+Book+of+Latin+American+poetry
NEW at independent bookstore: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780195124545
If you read the language, this is interesting: http://letras.s5.com/eh290910.html