Three Translations of the Poet Antón Lopo
Unt.
Not all words can adhere
to what you’re contemplating
and nor would your lips know how to say them.
But within [in you], quivers the word
you need. You know
you should utter it
and your body opens so that it may grow.
That’s where it happens.
*
We always hear each other too late,
like thunder in a storm
that’s still far off
or already on its way out.
Sooner or later, that distance will come bind you
to your body.
You’ll say:
so that’s what it was!
*
I tell myself that they’re my
more biological moments,
as if on previous occasions
they were the result of other matter.
The orography, however, is identical:
my lips still parted.
*
S.T. [original]
Todas as palabras non se poden adherir
ao que contemplas
e os teus labios tampouco saberían dicilas.
Pero dentro [en ti] axítase a palabra
que necesitas. Sabes
que debes pronunciala
e o teu corpo ábrese para que creza.
Aí ocorre.
*
Sempre nos sentimos a destempo,
como estrondo dunha tormenta
que aínda está lonxe
ou que xa se afasta.
Tarde ou cedo virá unirte a distancia
ao teu organismo.
Dirás:
así que era isto!
*
Dígome que son momentos
máis biolóxicos,
como se os movementos previos
viñesen doutra materia.
A orografía, porén, é idéntica:
os meus labios aínda abertos.
Antón Lopo, born in Monforte de Lemos in 1961, is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in Galician literature and is also recognized for his contributions as a journalist and critic. His work spans genres, from fiction, poetry, and biography to performance and audiovisual work.
Jacob Rogers is a translator of Galician and Spanish poetry and prose. He has received grants from the National Endowment of the Arts and the PEN/Heim Translation Fund, as well as winning the Poetry in Translation Prize from Words Without Borders and the Academy of American Poets. He has helped coordinate two features of Galician-language writing, in Words Without Borders and Asymptote. His translation of Manuel Rivas' novel The Last Days of Terranova is forthcoming from Archipelago Books in October 2022.