I’m a baby, so they didn’t want me,
But they didn’t care enough to set me free.
They put me in a box
And poured broken glass over me
And now I’m buried, cut, and bleeding.
There are too many miles of broken glass above.
So when I try to dig my way out, I get cut again,
And my cry is so small, no one can hear to help.
But then I hear another cry
Over those miles of glass.
It’s not human, but it cries.
And it cries some more.
And I don’t dare hope,
But just in case, I cry back.
Suddenly, some light comes in,
And then more
And then eyes belonging to a bloody paw
And a human hand
See me.
It is a dog and her master.
The dog is still crying
And I see why.
She’s cut and bleeding like me.
Will they save me,
Or pour the broken glass over me,
Killing me?
The human hand picks me up.
I’m dead for sure.
It pats the dog.
And then they rescue me,
And that is the last time I live in my broken glass house.
The dog found me
And hundreds of other homeless cats.
But I think there are many more like me
Who are never found.
First Edition Translation of Teselas by Carmen Crespo X111 César Simón Poetry Prixe 2016 Translated from Spanish by Robin Ouzman Hislop and Amparo Arrospíde
This collection of poetry addresses the nature of time, reflections on the natural world, the difficulty of loss,
contemporary social issues and gratitude for life.
Regis