BETWEEN CORDS
On the wire, on the slack rope,
among cords that move.
Among the rains that bring everything back to life,
between the cloudy and the sunny I walk.
Roaming through life without moving,
between the peace and the tempest of my blood,
agitated in a life that comes to nothing.
Among the cords that threaten my throat,
drowned in a dark alley with no way out.
Looking through the disorder of the days,
through the abandonment of the unstable,
gripped by the danger of living.
Between ropes and cords,
juggling in order to live,
on the slack rope—
in this life of mine,
which is no life.
--------------
ENTRE CORDELES
En el alambre, en la cuerda floja,
entre cordeles que se mueven.
Entre las lluvias que renacen todo,
entre lo nublado y lo soleado ando.
Trashumando por la vida sin moverse,
entre la paz y la tempestad de mi sangre,
alborotado en la vida que no llega a nada.
Entre cordales que amenazan mi garganta,
ahogado en un callejón obscuro sin salida.
Mirando entre el desorden de los días,
entre el desamparo de lo inestable,
atenazado por el peligro de vivir.
Entre cuerdas y cordeles,
malabares para vivir,
en la cuerda floja.
en esa vida mía,
que no es vida.
--
BETWEEN CORDS
On the tightrope, on the trembling line,
among the shifting cords.
Among the rains that bring all things to life,
between the cloudy and the sunlit I wander.
Drifting through life without moving,
between the peace and the storm in my blood,
unsettled in a life that leads nowhere.
Among the ropes that threaten my throat,
drowning in a dark alley with no escape.
Gazing through the disorder of the days,
through the helplessness of the unstable,
gripped by the danger of living.
Between ropes and cords,
juggling just to survive,
on the tightrope—
in this life of mine,
that is no life at all.
--------
November 17, 2025
---
綱のあいだで
綱の上、たわむ縄の上で、
揺れ動く紐のあいだに立っている。
すべてをよみがえらせる雨の中で、
曇りと晴れのあいだを 私は歩く。
動かぬまま 人生をさまよい、
血の中の静けさと嵐のあいだで、
どこへも届かぬ人生に かき乱されている。
喉元を脅かす綱のあいだで、
抜け道のない暗い路地に 溺れている。
日々の乱れのあいだを見つめ、
不安定という 寄る辺なさの中で、
生きるという危うさに 締めつけられて。
綱と紐のあいだで、
生きるための曲芸をしながら、
たわむ縄の上で——
この私の人生、
もはや人生とは呼べぬもの。
-
Author:
Carlos Alberto BUSTILLOS (
Offline) - Published: November 17th, 2025 06:01
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 6
- Users favorite of this poem: Paul Bell
Offline)
Comments2
Great title, great poem.
The cords of life when you're young seem to go on forever.
Then in later life the cords get tighter and the constraints harder.
Modern life they tell you, everything's at your convenience, the robot says.
Maybe too convenient as the rope gets tighter every day.
Thank you so much for having taken the effort to read my lines. It is true that, as the years go by, we become laden with ties of every sort, and ultimately, we simply keep filling the valise.
Bustillos I prefer that first English translation in that it has more raw power and feeling to it. The second seems more polished but to me in poetry polish is not always the best. The Spanish version is my favorite of all. It packs a punch and has the power of word sound. Loved them all. Very nicely done
Thank you for peering into the poems; it is always a joy to know that you are among us, sharing your kind words
Always so kind in you words it is my pleasure, especially for someone like you that offer us multilingual poems.
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