Laura Chalar

Suerte


Soñé que leías la palma de mi mano,
con la misma camisa de la última vez,

las mismas mejillas tersas.
Y lo que recuerdo no es el futuro que anunciabas

(ah, sí, algo acerca de mellizos)
sino el calor de tus dedos,

tan cierto que de algún modo rompió las aguas
y desperté con él en las yemas

vívidas aún de estática.

trans. Laura Chalar

Fortune


I dreamed that you were reading my palm,
in the same cotton shirt I last saw you in

and with the same unlined face.
And I don’t remember what predictions you made

(ah yes, something about twins),
but the warmth of your fingers —

so true it somehow broke the waters
and I woke with it on my fingertips,

still vivid with static.

 

Laura Chalar was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, where she trained as a lawyer. She is the author of five books, of which the latest is an English–language poetry collection, Midnight at the Law Firm, published by Coal City Press. She has also published numerous translations from and into Spanish, including works by Jane Austen and Jules Supervielle, and a Uruguayan poetry anthology translated into English. A book by Mary Wollstonecraft translated into Spanish will be published later this year. The recipient of several literary awards, Laura is also a Pushcart Prize nominee whose first short story collection in English is forthcoming in the United States.

 
 

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