RAFAEL ALBERTI
To the Hand
To you, tremor
&
steadiness, guide
of the eyes' thread , mysterious line of sight
which flows thence
to
the brush 's underside,
and sets
to
it a germinative light.
To you, flower in action, copula,
permanent accomplice of the pen,
tactful, slow, obedient, discreet
unless flung out - disjunctive only then .
To you, cross-canvas traveller, helpmate,
bearer of the stalk that generates
blossoming creatures, marvelous
&
ardent.
For the paintbrush , you are not an open rose:
you make your living happily half-closed.
To you, the tutelar god of Painting's garden.
Translated from the Spanish by Carolyn Tipton
AFFONSO ROMANO DE SANT'ANNA
The Building
(from "The Body-Object and Other Examples")
Body, house, building
they look like brothers
in height, shape, and fear
and in being solitary - objects.
