Among These Ruins
by Coral Bracho
This hotel is an old school,
you can feel it, though time has passed.
Despite the broken-down walls,
the smashed spaces. The people who live here
seem to be passing through. A few hours
each day. A few months.
Perhaps
they do have their own rooms,
but they seem to be constantly on the move.
I have been looking for my own room for some time among these ruins.
I couldn't say how long, but now
I've come out into what must have been a garden
or some back terrace.
From here, all the spaces are back to front.
Perhaps I will recognize the look of my room
by its own back. Or from it, perhaps, I will catch
some sound.
The literal translation of this poem was made by Tom Boll
The final translated version of the poem is by Katherine Pierpoint
Listen to a reading of this poem in English and the original language on the player below or download it to keep (MP3).
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© Poetry Translation Centre 2004-2012
ITALO CARLOS PEREIRA BATISTA ROSA says:
I guess Coral Bracho is a mexican poet, not spaniard, she is a poet I like.
Carmen says:
I think it is a fine version. However, I, as a poetry translator, would have worried about the choice "back terrace" instead "back patio/yard", since the poet is from Spain, and patios are so typical there, more than terraces. Maybe your choice allowes making the words and the feeling they convey more accessible to the English reader, which is a point in translating poetry.