Escenas de Olvido En Valparaíso

The weight of her name was so brief, Valparaíso,
Spoken softly in April,
And the last pollen of autumn, Valparaíso,
The secret fire, soaked in salt,
The fruit's essence,*
From our hives in the raw,
Valparaíso.

The time of her hands was so real, Valparaíso,
And her voice was such a whisper,
So fragile the shelter of her womb, Valparaíso,
So short her thirst, so harsh her bread,
So uncertain her scent,
So powerless her anchors when setting sail,
Valparaíso.

Port of mist, look at me here:
I carry her scar in my mouth,
I carry her mistakes in my chest,
I carry her open space in my hands,
Memory port: keep it for me
From fire and fog near the sea.

Keep her magical tragic delirium,
Keep her childhood and her distance,
Celestial Valparaíso.

She lived in the maps of my chest, Valparaíso,
Cruel in height and sun.
She anointed her mystery to my memory, Valparaíso,**
And I doubt here, deprived of being,
A castaway trying to anchor,
While her enigma fades
Over the sea,
Valparaíso.

Sleepless port, look at me here,
I carry her goodbye in my ear,
I carry her empty winery in my thirst,
I carry her dead wonder on my dock.
Invisible port, you keep it,
From foam and iodine under your light.
Keep her childhood, magical wakefulness
And her distance, tragic delirium,
Celestial Valparaíso.

But I don’t know if even you are real,
Valparaíso,
Or if I was the one who dreamed you.

On the album "America, My Bride" Patricio Manns says:
* and fruit's essence
** she anointed her mystery to my memory, Valparaíso.