No one will know of the interrupted poem
or why it fell silent.
Everyone will say it died of natural causes,
even as it still stirs.
No one will come close enough to see
the soles of the boots,
though they hear it moan beneath them.
Everyone will say it is nothing
because the dead do not speak.
No one will know of the interrupted poem
except the one who dares to continue it.
And when its poet turns to dust,
the poem will have learned
to raise its voice.
***
The poet thanks Andy Willoughby for the joint translation work.
Read the poem in Spanish: Zoila Forss-Crespo Moreyra: El poema interrumpido
Zoila Forss-Crespo Moreyra is a Peruvian-born Finnish poet and translator. She has published poetry collections “Revontuli”, “Syytön harppuuna”, and edited the poetry anthology “Hologrammi”. Her third book “Eleonor-ja-muut-yrtit” (Enostone kustannus) will be published this year. She received the Nihil Interit Poetry Prize in 2023 at the Turku Book Fair. She is also a graphic designer and a publisher.
