Those that Try to Force the Eternal — Web Exclusive
By Eduardo Milán
Translated by Leora Fridman
from accidental doors, trapped
tangled penguin
I want the liberty to suspend
what color will the kerchief be
time to wonder
they violate the possible and so
they violate the possible of time
measured by cat that stretches out
by drop of keys that foreshadows war
they who narrate the whole scene of the dance
hips touched, beat through the branches
falls to the ground that crawls, lead on its feet
during the Great Depression
articles, pronouns, particles
of dust descending the air
Spanish way: adjective after noun
believes in the act, in the event and the act
—to permeate eternity by force goes that verse
what color will the kerchief be
of the greeting given
from the square of sand
Eduardo Milán is a Uruguayan-born poet, essayist, and literary critic. He left Uruguay in 1979 for Mexico due to political persecution and has since has published over a dozen books of poems, as well as essays and literary criticism. Milán is the recipient of the Premio de Poesía Aguascalientes.
Leora Silverman Fridman is a writer, translator, and educator living in Massachusetts. Her recent and forthcoming publications are included in Denver Quarterly, Shampoo, Sixth Finch, H_NGM_N, and others.
Original Text: Eduardo Milán. Manto. Mexico City: Fondo de cultura económica, 1999.