La plática
Anoche platique con el lucero
que me alumbra mis noches por la ventana
cuando las nubes se lo permiten.
Y me preguntó,
¿por qué esa mirada triste?
Y yo, entre lágrimas y sollozos, le dije,
que el encierro me abate hasta el alma.
Quisiera estar tan libre como él,
para observar a todo el mundo.
Quisiera darle calor a mis seres amados,
así como él lo hace con sus rayos.
Quisiera guiar a todos los que yo amo,
así como él guía a todos los viajeros.
Pero entre lágrimas me dijo que él me comprendía,
que él sabía del dolor que estoy pasando,
porque durante largas noches
él me había observado.
Y me dijo que comprendía
el dolor de estar encerrado.
Que durante muchas y largas noches
las nubes lo habían enjaulado
y no le permitían brillar en todo su esplendor.
Que no había un cielo despejado,
donde sus rayos podían correr en libertad.
A conversation
Last night through the window
I talked with the star
that illuminates my night,
when clouds allow.
He asked me,
why the long face?
Between sobs
and convulsions
I answered
prison has shuttered me
down to the soul.
I want a freedom like his
to watch the whole world
to send warmth to those I love
like he does with his rays.
To guide those I love
like he guides voyagers.
Between tears
he answered
that he understood
he knew the pain I was going through
that during long nights
he’d been watching me.
He said he understood
the anguish of being locked up.
That during
many
indefinite
nights
clouds had caged him too
and would not let him shine.
How there was no clear sky
for such light to run free.
La plática by Jeremias Leonel Estrada was written while the poet was in ICE detention at the Theo Lacy Maximum Security Facility in Anaheim, 2017
From Jeremias Estrada —
Hola soy Jeremias Estrada escritor guatemalteco ahora vivo en mexico, con mi esposa y dos hijos, en 2017 fui encarcelado luchando por asilo en EEUU donde escribi mi primer libro el quetzal canta en cautiverio, ahora con mis poemas busco encontrar un abogado pro-bono para mi caso de reopen , si alguno de Los presentes sabe como ayudarme no dude en ponerse en contacto. Gracias
estradajeremiasleonel@gmail.com
Jeremias Estrada is a Guatemalan writer living in Mexico with his wife and two children. In 2017 he was imprisoned petitioning for asylum in the US where he wrote his first book, The Quetzal Sings in Captivity. Now with his poems he seeks pro bono legal representation to reopen his case – you can contact him at estradajeremiasleonel@gmail.com
Brian Sonia-Wallace‘s debut book, The Poetry of Strangers, a poetic exploration of humanity on America’s margins, is forthcoming from Harper Collins in June 2020 and is available for pre-order now. Brian is a nationally recognized poet, a Get Lit teaching artist, and the founder of RENT Poet, a poetry experience company featured on NPR’s How I Built This & serving clients ranging from Google to Vice. Brian’s writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Rattle, & more, and he has been a Poet in Residence for Amtrak, Mall of America, Dollar Shave Club, and the National Parks.
This translation is by Brian Sonia-Wallace
Edited by LR
With thanks to Maria Elena Young & Ana Reynoso
The Los Angeles Press 