Battery — Web Exclusive
By Julio Martínez Mesanza
Translated by Don Bogen
When everything around me is collapsing,
I think about artillery and maps,
about the perfect world of maps, and how
reality transforms that perfect world.
Someone picks a target, and someone
looks for reference points in the landscape,
the tower of a church, a mountain peak,
to gauge the levels with exact precision
before he lays out the trajectory.
At tables, those who use the formulas
to find the range, the proper charge and angle,
immerse themselves in calculations.
The gunners start their work at the cannons
in a feverish, mechanical routine,
while the observers wait impatiently
to see the cloud that shows the first impact.
When the order to fire is finally given
everything is excitement and turmoil,
each man is responsible for his part
and no one is responsible for the wreckage.
Julio Martínez Mesanza is among the leading poets of the Spanish "Generation of '80." Between 1983 and 1990 he published four editions of a single expanding collection, Europa, which has been followed by Las trincheras, Entre el muro y el foso, and a selected poems in 2007.
Don Bogen is the author of four books of poetry, most recently An Algebra. His translations have appeared in Boston Review, Pleiades, Poetry Northwest, and others.
Original text: Julio Martínez Mesanza, "Batería" from Soy en mayo. Seville: Editorial Renacimiento, 2007.
This poem is published in conjunction with Counterfeits, the 18th volume of TWO LINES, which includes this poem, along with translations of over 30 other international writers. To learn more and order your own copy, visit this page.