Cejas

Sus cejas
son gruesas y gordas
orugas peludas y negras meneándose
a través de los planos lisos de su frente.
 
Sus cejas
son un poco desordenados
a veces un jardín cubierto de malas hierbas
que amenazan a declararles dictador de la cara.
 
Sus cejas
van arriba a menudo
cuando él está suplicando
o tratando a demostrar
su sinceridad o inocencia
pero nunca abajo
en enojo o silencio lastimado.
 
Es a causa de sus cejas
y los ojos verdes y tranquilos de abajo
que yo confío completamente en él
que mudaría a una ciudad desconocido
que escribiría de mi confianza en todas formas
tinta
carbón
mayonesa
serenatas del tercer piso
en una poema en vez de mi prosa usual y segura
aún en otra lengua.
 
Sus cejas traicionan a su corazón;
revelan el hombre que quiere ser-
honesto, fuerte, y con una marca en el mundo
que es solamente el suyo.
 
No sé del resto
pero estoy bien segura
que nunca ha sido un hombre
de quien ha sido escrito
una poema en español
sobre sus cejas.
 
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Brows
 
His brows
are thick and fat
fuzzy black caterpillars wriggling
across the smooth planes of his forehead.
 
His brows
are a little messy
at times a garden overgrown with weeds
that threaten to declare themselves dictator of his face.
 
His brows
go upwards often
when he is pleading
or trying to demonstrate
his earnestness or innocence
but never downwards
in anger or hurt silence.
 
It is because of his brows
and the calm green eyes underneath
that I trust him completely
that I would move to an unknown city
that I would write of my trust in every form
ink
charcoal
mayonnaise
fourth-floor serenades
in a poem instead of my usual safe prose
even in another tongue.
 
His brows betray his heart
they reveal the man he wants to be
honest, strong, and with a mark on the world
that is only his own.
 
I don't know about the rest
but I am pretty sure
that there has never been a man
of whom there has been written
a poem in Spanish
about his brows.
 
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The OO prompts, and the other writers, have challenged me as a writer more than I could have imagined. For this last post I tried to think of something that would be extremely difficult to do and then made myself do it- I never post my poetry, and writing in Spanish is a lot of effort for me. I'm sure I made a few grammar mistakes, but I did originally write it in Spanish and then translate it- that's why a few English lines sound stilted. Thank you so much to Marie and all the posters and readers for being our fans. And of course to PF, my biggest fan and inspiration. Awww.