Penas y Alegrias de Amor
Mario Alvarez Quiroga
Pains and Joys of Love
Look how my skin reacts
When I remember you
A river of fresh blood rises up my throat
From the wound that pierces
Through and through my body
I have nails in my hands
And knives in my fingers
And on my temple a crown
Made of black pins
Look how my skin reacts
Every time I remember
That I'm a married man
And yet, I love you
Between your house and my house
There's a wall of silences
Of nettles and prickly pears
Of lime, sand, wind
Of dark honeysuckles
And lurking glass
A wall so the town can never jump over it
That's lurking around the key
That guards our secret
And I know well that you love me
And you know that I love you
And we both know it
And no one can know
I leave my house for the countryside
Only with your thought
To caress alone
The fabric of that handkerchief
That you dropped one Sunday
When you were coming from the town
And I've never told you
My love that I have it
And I squeeze it in my hands
Just like a new lemon
And I look at your initials and repeat them silently
So not even the countryside knows
How much I love you
Yesterday in the new square
Life, don't do it again
I saw you kiss my child
My youngest child
And how you kissed him
Oh Virgin of Remedies!
It was the first time
You gave me a kiss
I ran to my house
I lifted my child from the ground
And without anyone seeing me
Like a thief lying in wait
On his poppy face
Your kiss bit my mouth
Oh, what joy, and what sorrow!
To love you as I do
Look, whatever happens and
Even if the sky collapses
Even if your name and mine
Are trampled on the ground
Even if the earth opens up
And even if the town knows
And they display our flags of love
To the four winds
Keep loving me like this
Torment of my torments
Oh, what joy, and what sorrow!
To love you as I do