TO THE PAIN OF CHILDBIRTH

by Ana Istarú
translated by Mark Smith-Soto

 

 

Hello, pain, let’s dance.
Today you will be
my short-lived lover.
 
Your ship’s siren,
your sonorous rings in my mouth,
I know, I know.
 
Oh, Jehova’s beast,
your bite’s point-blank.
Hello pain.
Let’s dance, what the hell.
 
Soon I’ll watch you burn, rabid,
alone in your parade
 
and I, spilling froth from my breasts,
delighting in the little king,
breathing in the gold scream
of the child I birthed.

 

 

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