Portrait at 49; retrato a los 49
Earlier in 2022, O, Miami asked for submissions for a special project called “Portrait at 34” by local artist Najja Moon to honor her late cousin, the poet Kamilah Aisha Moon. I was very happy to be selected for inclusion in the photo-booth collaboration with Najja.
The photo-booth was set up at the Pérez Art Museum Miami last Saturday, April 9th, and will also be at the Underline on April 29th.
Here’s the poem in both, English and Spanish.
PORTRAIT AT 49
the tropic light
seeps
under the shade
a couple of cups
and a coat
for a cold that is not
a waltz for Debby
swings
the “Closed” sign
and the drops
of a warning
wet your cinnamon-colored lids
the flames
that consume everything
ring serenely
while
I pray
for those that didn’t make it
and I revisit an album
toasting all alone
in the living room of my soul
49 sticks tattooed
on the wall
we counted them last time
and grey hairs brew on the mirror
among the fibers
of a beard made of pasts
a parade of questions
every night
and one that punctures my sleep:
what, next?
RETRATO A LOS 49
la luz del trópico
se escurre
debajo de la cortina
un par de tazas
y un abrigo
para un frio de mentira
un vals para Debby
mece el cartel
de “cerrado”
y las gotas
de un augurio
mojan tus párpados canela
las llamas
que todo consumen
repican serenas
mientras
ruego por
quienes no llegaron
y repaso un álbum
brindando a solas
en la sala de mi alma
en el muro
tatuados 49 palitos
los contamos la otra vez
y en el espejo asoman
canas entre las fibras
de una barba de pasados
un desfile de preguntas
cada madrugada
y una me perfora el sueño:
what, next?
