Isolda Dosamantes w/ Translation by Toshiya Kamei

AMP. Always-Electric.

Volume 4, No. 1

TWO POEMS

Isolda Dosamantes w/ Translation by Toshiya Kamei

HORMIGAS

Las personas envidian nuestro abraso 
son piedras
se amontonan igual que las hormigas 
crean murmullos
nos separan.
            Cómo ser agua para evaporarme
            ser llovizna y caer en la palma de tu mano? 
Soy la que busca tu aliento distraída
y se aleja con las voces del mundo
—nos rodean sus balbuceos 
hilvanan historias de arquetipos
y no soy la princesa de los cuentos
ni tu el príncipe de espadas 
escuchamos—
poco a poco se transforman 
son serpientes invaden
inician la muralla del destierro.

ANTS

People who flood our fire 
are stones that
pile up like ants 
create murmurs
and separate us.
             How can I be water to escape
             be a drizzle, and fall into the palm of your hand? 
Distracted, I'm the one who seeks your breath
and walks away with the voices of the world.
—their babbles surround us
they weave stories of archetypes
and I'm not a princess in a fairy tale 
nor are you a prince with a sword 
we listen—
little by little they turn 
into snakes who invade 
and start the wall of exile.

NO CREO NADA

tu voz
se confunde
con el fuego para quemar las sombras 
roba al silencio
con la copa de anís y un cigarro 
el suspiro prohibido.

I DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING

your voice 
melts into
the fire that burns the shadows 
and steals the silence
with a glass of anisette and a cigarette 
the forbidden sigh.

ISOLDA DOSAMANTES W/ TRANSLATION BY TOSHIYA KAMEI

Isolda Dosamantes was born in 1969 in Tlaxcala, Mexico, where she lives with her husband and their son. She is the author of several collection of poetry, including Paisaje sobre la seda (2008), Apuntes de viaje (2012), and Después del hambre (2017). English translations of her poems have appeared in various journals, including Aji Magazine, The Bitter Oleander, Gyara, International Poetry Review, and PANK. Isolda blogs at Miradas del tiempo.  Translator Toshiya Kamei holds an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Arkansas. He is the translator of books by Claudia Apablaza, Liliana Blum, Carlos Bortoni, Selfa Chew, Espido Freire, and Leticia Luna.

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