the south or the southside

The South

To have watched from one of your patios

the ancient stars,

from the bench of shadow to have watched

those scattered lights

that my ignorance has learned no names for

nor their places in constellations,

to have heard the note of water

in the cistern,

known the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle,

the silence of the sleeping bird,

the arch of the entrance, the damp

--these things perhaps are the poem.

(1923)

***

El sur

Desde uno de tus patios haber mirado

las antiguas estrellas,

desde el banco de

la sombra haber mirado

esas luces dispersas

que mi ignorancia no ha aprendido a nombrar

ni a ordenar en constelaciones,

haber sentido el circulo del agua

en el secreto alijibe,

el olor del jazmin y la madreselva,

el silencio del pajaro dormido,

el arco del zanguan, la humedad

--esas cosas, acaso, son el poema.

(1923)