Laura Chalar
Suerte
Soñé que leías la palma de mi mano,
con la misma camisa de la última vez,
las mismas mejillas tersas.
Y lo que recuerdo no es el futuro que anunciabas
(ah, sí, algo acerca de mellizos)
sino el calor de tus dedos,
tan cierto que de algún modo rompió las aguas
y desperté con él en las yemas
vívidas aún de estática.
trans. Laura Chalar
Fortune
I dreamed that you were reading my palm,
in the same cotton shirt I last saw you in
and with the same unlined face.
And I don’t remember what predictions you made
(ah yes, something about twins),
but the warmth of your fingers —
so true it somehow broke the waters
and I woke with it on my fingertips,
still vivid with static.
Laura Chalar was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, where she trained as a lawyer. She is the author of five books, of which the latest is an English–language poetry collection, Midnight at the Law Firm, published by Coal City Press. She has also published numerous translations from and into Spanish, including works by Jane Austen and Jules Supervielle, and a Uruguayan poetry anthology translated into English. A book by Mary Wollstonecraft translated into Spanish will be published later this year. The recipient of several literary awards, Laura is also a Pushcart Prize nominee whose first short story collection in English is forthcoming in the United States.
More from Vol. 33, Issue 1
Soft Soaps: All About Bali
Eunsong Kim
Shadow Thief
David Koehn
West Virginia, or What Do You Want Me to Say? // The Inner Life // ... // Where to Start
Mary Ann Samyn
“Without baseball, life would be a mistake.” // When the Bear Dances
Phil Tabakow
from Testament
G.C. Waldrep
I. The Magician // XX. Judgment // XXI. The World from Arcana
Hanna Andrews
Blake’s Fairy Funeral // ... // Gilchrist Paints Felpham // Song to Anna Flaxman’s Joy
Geoffrey Babbitt
Morning of Song from The Anatolian Tapestry
Dawn-Michelle Baude
Fortune
Laura Chalar
Long gone lonesome // A beetle in the screen
Nathan Hauke