Return to Death
(Dedicated to Federico García Lorca. The poem's title alludes to Lorca's untimely return to Granada, which shocked his family and friends. The Falangists wished to liquidate this Andalusian poet, whose outspokenness was an embarrassment to Franco and the fascist cause in general)
Federico,
why did you return to your Andalusian City in 1936,
why did you go back to a certain death?
Granada, City of beauty, and, at night,
provider of the best location
to listen to and to absorb Flamenco.
Your family, friends and those who knew you,
and your work,
were horrified.
They knew what would happen eventually,
and all the while you continued to worship the Granadan nights and your
moon,
blue
blue
Granada, network of laughter and tears.
A mixture of both in the moonlit hours, shared with brujas y toreros,
over jugs of red wine … fragrances from distant rivers … marine satin …
Death awaits you Federico – just for how long have you known this?
And,
too distant for your keen eyes to perceive,
new indentations … alter the contours of the fields …
Page(s) 54
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