PRACTICES, POWER & THE PUBLIC SPHERE: DIALOGICAL SPACES & MULTIPLE MODERNITIES in Asian Contemporary Art 
an online showcase curated by Maya Kóvskaya
 

 

OPEN HOUSE

by Circe Maia
translated by Jesse Lee Kercheval

 

 

It is a strange house.
Look:
the hand suddenly opens
sleeping doors.

There are fine staircases and high windows.
The windows are
open and voices can be heard
singing.

Singing with the voice of the earth and the air of the sky.
Slow voices descend black stairs.
White voices descend trembling
lofty columns.

They sing with an absent air and a voice of the wind.
They sound as if they are asleep and in pain,
the slow deep voices.
They sound as if they are tired and suffering
from old wounds.

They are singing there
in windows,
opened wide.



CASA ABIERTA

Es una casa extraña.
Mira:
la mano abre de pronto
puertas dormidas.

Son finas escaleras y altas ventanas.
Las ventanas están
abiertas y se oye
voces cantar.

Cantan con voz de tierra y aire de cielo.
Lentas voces descienden peldaños negros.
Blancas voces descienden por temblorosas
columnas estiradas.

Cantan con aire ausente y voz de viento.
Suenan como dormidas y doloridas
las hondas voces lentas.
Suenan como cansadas y lastimadas
de heridas viejas.

Cantando están
en ventanas abiertas
de par en par.

 

 

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