La puñalada
Celedonio Flores
The stab
They mention those who know
that a tough guy
very gutsy
and with a well-established reputation
in the neighborhood
of Palermo
dropped one day
tapping his heels
arrogantly
to a dance
where there were
tough guys
for the knife.
They started to look at him
with a haughty air
but the waiter, without a word,
approached a door.
He let them linger.
He let them talk.
And to avoid a fight
he had to endure.
But the prettiest girl,
the one who was
most involved
in the souls
of the tough guys,
that night
with her eyes
urged him
to come out
and show them
in a tango
his worth.
A great resentment crossed
with another resentment
in the light
of a kerosene lantern
and a knife
that splits a heart in two
because that's
what that cruel woman wanted.
They say those who saw
that the tough guys
writhed
with their bodies
and eagerly sought
the opponent's carelessness
and in a moment
of vulnerability
the waiter
from Palermo
plunged his knife
up to the hilt.
