BÉSAME EN ESPAÑOL
Kiss me in Spanish.
Grab my waist and squeeze me
against you. Wait
a moment. Let silence
open space for language.
Let words
populate
what is
expanding
between us. When
the dictionary of our
understanding’s
about to burst,
lean
forward
slowly.
Close your eyes.
Part your lips.
Invite me to the country
where I don’t need to be
translated.
—from Rattle #81, Fall 2023
__________
José Medina: “I wrote this poem while translating famous German poems. I don’t speak German, so it was an experiment to translate a language that I did not understand at all. The result is this poem about translation and cross-cultural living.”
