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Poetry

Bird’s Nest

By Aurora Arias
Translated from Spanish by Erica Mena

Luminous missionaries
our sexual bodies
perfect as a bird’s nest
carnivorous, incomparable.
 
The bodies of virgins
hold all the dreams
the honeyed bodies of whores
hold all the men

The bodies of ladies hold
one man and charm thousands

The bodies of dust of the dead
where worms sigh

The bodies of pregnant women
brimming with knowledge of creation
The world created through a circle.  

“Nido de pájaros” © Aurora Arias. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2011 by Erica Mena. All rights reserved.

English Spanish (Original)

Luminous missionaries
our sexual bodies
perfect as a bird’s nest
carnivorous, incomparable.
 
The bodies of virgins
hold all the dreams
the honeyed bodies of whores
hold all the men

The bodies of ladies hold
one man and charm thousands

The bodies of dust of the dead
where worms sigh

The bodies of pregnant women
brimming with knowledge of creation
The world created through a circle.  

Nido de pájaros

Misioneros
luminosos nuestros órganos sexuales
perfectos como nido de pájaro
carnívoros, inimitables.

Los órganos de las vírgenes
donde caben todos los sueños
los órganos de miel de las prostitutas
donde caben todos los hombres

Los órganos de las señoras donde cabe
un hombre y se invocan miles

Los órganos de polvorientos de las muertas
donde suspiran los gusanos

Los órganos de la mujer grávida
en plena erudición creadora.
El mundo creado a través de un círculo.

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