some things are smashed beyond recall
some truths can no longer be spoken
the path between us, like a wailing wall,
littered with fragments of two hearts, broken
so that with any step closer, a fragment is crushed
a soul is seared to feel old wounds reopen
how sudden were the days that rushed
us headlong to this wounded end
all our sweet harmony so rudely hushed
I know what you want, but will not pretend
can’t protect myself without causing you pain
only walk away from what I cannot mend
how beautiful our world when love reigned
how bright those days before our fall
but now, ah, see what remains!
Sometimes prompts and events come together. Today I received an e-mail from my ex – I hadn’t expected to hear from him again, and sadly everything he said brought home to me how badly our communication is broken, and how much pain he is in right now. And with this in my mind I came across a visual prompt on poefusion called “stages of grief”. Touching off words that slipped naturally into a terza rima structure. And all the time, echoing in my mind, the melancholy passion of a tango:
Hoy vas a entrar en mi pasado,
en el pasado de mi vida.
Tres cosas lleva mi alma herida:
Amor, Pesar, Dolor.
Hoy vas a entrar en mi pasado,
hoy nuevas sendas tomaremos.
Que grande ha sido nuestro amor
y, sin embargo, ay,
mira lo que quedo!
Today you will become part of my past
the past of my life
There are three things in my wounded soul -
love, regret, and pain
Today you will become part of my past
Today we will take new paths
How great our love once was
And yet, ay!, see what is left of it!
~Los Mareados, lyrics by Juan Carlos Cobian, my own translation
