It took me twenty years to love
this hole in the middle of nowhere.
The cotton balls spread a white flame
and there was an ill wind in the cypresses
until for the first time I saw,
with a just eye,
the unsophisticated houses under the roof of clouds,
until I heard
the wonderful murmur of the street.
The last whisper emitted by the waves of asphalt
mingled
with the bang of the evening on the ground,
like the voice of a forgotten woman that had betrayed her
and told the truth she tried
to hide in her face.
Decades of wear and tear
have taught the children to caress the water in the stone,
to float paper boats in puddles with ridiculous hope.
The circus past of the girls bloomed in the swirl of a skirt
when the gaze of the crowd sawed through it.
Only loveless places are worthy of absolute love.

Translated by Vivian Eden