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The Red Tree/El Arbol Rojo. 11 Haikus in translation, by CARLOS PINTADO

October 14, 2015  By Ariana Reguant
0


English translation by Eliana Rivero

1
Árbol oscuro:
sostienes ya la noche,
sombra en las ramas.

2
Mano en la noche.
Un pájaro sombrío,
sombra de pájaro.

10
Soñar el Zen
según lo quiso Basho,
haiku del sueño.

14
Es el olvido.
No es ni tiempo ni muerte.
Es el olvido.

15
Tiresias ciego.
¿La esfinge o la quimera?
Nadie responde.

19
La esencia tiene
curiosidad extraña:
¿rosa o perfume?

20
La noche eterna
desciende, sin saberlo,
desde el olvido.

22
El caracol,
que arrastra su silencio,
oye la nada.

23
El gusanillo
que baja desde el techo
sueña su hilo.

34
Soñó el Quijote
que soñaba el molino
que era un gigante.

35
Reloj de arena,
como la sed del tiempo
en los desiertos.

1
Dark tree:
you hold up the night,
shadow in your branches.

2
Hand in the night.
A shadowy bird,
shadow of a bird.

10
Dreaming the Zen,
as Basho wanted,
haiku of dreams.

14
It is oblivion.
It is not even time or death.
It is oblivion.

15
Blind Tyresias.
Is it the Sphynx or the Chimera?
Nobody answers.

19
Essence has
a strange curiosity:
is it  rose or perfume?

20
Eternal night
descends, without knowing,
from oblivion.

22
The snail,
who drags its silence,
hears nothingness.

23
The little worm
descending from the ceiling
dreams of its thread.

34
Quixote dreamt
that the windmill dreamt
it was a giant.

35
Sand clock,
like the thirst of time
in the deserts.

Cover Image: Fall in Catoctin Mountain, by Marcial Cándido (2015). All Rights Reserved.

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Carlos Pintado

Carlos Pintado is a Cuban-born writer, poet, and playwright. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Spain's prestigious  Sant Jordi  Prize, and the Paz Prize for Poetry (The National Poetry Series). He has been translated into English, German, French, Turkish, Portuguese and Italian. The New York Times Magazine just published his poem ‘The moon” in its September edition, selected by US Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey. These haikus are a selection from his unpublished book El Arbol Rojo. Carlos Pintado lives and works in Miami.

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