Mateo Morrison (Santo Domingo, 1946). Dominican writer, lawyer, poet, and essayist. In the late 1970s, he founded the Cesar Vallejo Literary Workshop. In 2010, he was awarded the Premio Nacional de Literatura. A worldwide renowned poet, Morrison is a living legend in Latin American poetry.
Poema del dolor no merecido
No al silencio. No a lo triste. No a la angustia. Sí a la gigante canción de la esperanza que entonamos aunque la muerte nos persiga. Sí a los encendidos faroles que llevamos como lámpara en el pecho. Sí a nuestros amores, aunque no sepamos dónde recostaremos nuestros sueños.
No temas. Donde uno de nosotros muera tragándose hasta el polvo, se levantará una órbita de luz que otro tomará para clarear el camino. Por canto, no a tu llanto, sí a tu risa; no congojas, si a tus ojos de paloma, contentivos de dicha.
Poem of Undeserved Pain
No to silence. No to sadness. No to anguish. Yes to the gigantic song of hope that we sing although death is chasing us. Yes to the lit lanterns hanging from our chest like lamps. Yes to our loves, although we do not know where our dreams will lean to rest.
Do not fear. There where one of us dies biting the dust, an arch or light shall arise and someone else shall use it to clear the way. For song, no to your tears, yes to your smile; no grief, yes to your dove-like eyes overflowed with bliss.
Translated by Carlos Aguasaco