Al Borde

Gloria Fuertes

Soy alta; en la guerra
llegué a pesar cuarenta kilos.

He estado al borde de la tuberculosis,
al borde de la cárcel,
al borde de la amistad,
al borde del arte,
al borde del suicidio,
al borde de la misericordia,
al borde de la envidia,
al borde de la fama,
al borde del amor,
al borde de la playa,
y, poco a poco, me fue dando sueño,
y aquí estoy durmiendo al borde,
al borde de despertar.

Close

Translated by Irene Antich Fernadez

I’m tall; during the war
I weighted barely forty kilos.

I’ve been close to getting tuberculosis,
close to been thrown into jail,
close to having a friend,
close to creating art,
close to committing suicide,
close to seeing mercy,
close to giving in to envy,
close to becoming famous,
close to falling in love,
close to swimming in the sea,
and, little by little, I started to fall asleep,
and here am I sleeping very close,
very close to waking up.