Ya esta noche la noche ha terminado.
Y mientras yo vacío el cenicero
y retiro los vasos, y las mantas
pongo en orden pensando aún en tus besos
y en tu última sonrisa en el rellano,
tú te arrojas al frío de la calle,
y te arrebujas en tu cazadora,
y el paso aprietas pues te cierra el metro
y te quieren en casa al desayuno.

Y mientras en las sábanas aún busco
algo de tu calor y tu perfume
y tu constelación brilla en lo oscuro,
cruza el vagón los túneles del sueño
y en un tibio recuerdo te acurrucas,
fatigado, gozoso y aturdido,
oliéndote en las manos mi colonia,
paladeando imágenes lascivias,
repitiendo la letra de un bolero.

 

translated by Lawrence Schimel

Already tonight the night has ended.
And while I empty the ashtray
and collect the glasses, and make the bed
still thinking of your kisses
and of your last smile on the landing,
you launch yourself into the cold of the street
and huddle in your jacket,
and pick up the pace, the metro is closing
and they want you home for breakfast.

And while I still search the sheets
for some of your heat and your scent
and your constellation shines in the dark,
the train crosses the tunnels of sleep
and you curl up inside a weak memory ,
tired, content, and groggy,
smelling on your hands my cologne,
reliving lascivious images,
reciting the lyrics of a bolero.

 

© 2007 Luis Martínez de Merlo

 

Luis Martínez de Merlo was born in Madrid in 1955. As a poet he has published numerous collections, including: Orphencia Lyra ("Poesia Alcalá" prize), Silva de Sirenas, Alma del Tiempo (Finalist "El Bardo" prize), and De Algunas Otras Veces ("Puente Cultural" prize). He has also published a short novel, Un Hombre Anticuado, and a collection of stories, Rosa Palida. He has translated into Spanish works by Dante, Leopardi, Baudelaire ("Stendhal" prize for Flores Del Mal), Verlaine, Laforgue, and Cros, among others, as well as an anthology of French Baroque poets and another of Italian poets from the 16th century. He has also translated classic French theater by Corneille and Molière. He is also a poet and photographer, whose work is frequently exhibited in Madrid.