Judy, y la poesia temprana de Gladys Ilarregui

A NECKLACE'S BEADS

this necklace that I have on
a moon mark upon my neck
a mark of the stars’ white dentures, polar bears
cosmic fingers that made the universe
this necklace
my own neck, my way of resting my head on my hand
a place to encounter time: my own face, my silence

the flight of butterflies behind the windows
a white world as night falls, my beads

my secrets.

Translated by Judy B. McInnis





LAS CUENTAS DE UN COLLAR

este collar que llevo puesto
una marca de luna sobre el cuello
una marca de dentadura blanca de astros, osos polares
cósmicos dedos que hicieron el universo
este collar
mi cuello, mi forma de apoyar la cabeza en la mano
un lugar donde encontrar el tiempo: mi cara, mi silencio

vuelo de mariposas detrás de las ventanas
un mundo blanco por el anochecer, mis cuentas

mis secretos.


Gladys Ilarregui is an Argentinean poet who has resided in the Washington area since 1983. Her poetic work consists of six books of poetry, all of them translated into English by Judy McInnis and Egla Morales Blouin. She has won several awards including the Plural Prize (Mexico, 1993), the Federico García Lorca Prize (USA, 1994), the Jorge Luis Borges Prize (Argentina, 1999), and the Arthur P. Whitaker Prize (USA, 2003). She has read her work and at the Library of Congress, and other centres and universities within the US and abroad. Currently she is working at University of Delaware, where she teaches Colonial Literature and Latin American Poetry.


Published in Poetry Quarterly, Volume 6, Number 4, Fall 2005.