Two Poems

Translated by Tanya Huntington

I DRINK FROM YOUR MOUTH

I drink a moment
from your mouth,
light,
wind.

I drink your gaze
from your mouth,
your steps,
your song.

I drink the dawn
from your mouth,
a flower that falls
and a slow,
distant cry.

I drink
and I go on drinking
the very subtle thread
of a life in flames
that leaps from your mouth to mine,
joining in your flavor,
in the flavor of your desire,
all that is fleeting
to eternity.

While it is true
that the soul is air
and there is a breath
within the word “spirit”,
little by little
I drink in
your soul
with every kiss.

IN YOU I DISCOVERED LIGHT

Like a cry of fire
the sun rises along the road,
just as another sun rises
in your mouth, another delirium,
the extreme, possessive joy
of being in you, of being with you.

That sun rises from your throat,
like a tremor, a torrent,
it burns my eyes, it burns my hands
and sets the skin I desire on fire along the way,
the skin of the world that covers your body.

It leaves you and it comes back to you,
for you are the measurement of days.
And the night becomes clear
in the enlightened touch of your words.
In you I discovered light,
that point upon thinking, full of life,
that the sun is found in everything,
enjoyment, splendor,
the longing to love
enters your mouth
and I go with it.

Alberto Ruy-Sánchez Lacy is a Mexican writer and editor. He has authored more than 25 titles that include poetry, fiction and essays. He has been a visiting professor at several universities including Stanford, Middlebury and La Sorbonne. He is the Editor in Chief of  Artes de México.

BEBO EN TU BOCA

Bebo en tu boca
el instante,
la luz,
el viento.

Bebo en tu boca
tu mirada,
tus pasos,
tu canto.

Bebo en tu boca
el amanecer,
la flor que cae
y un llanto
lejano y lento.

Bebo
y no paro de beber
el hilo tan sutil
de vida en llamas
que de tu boca a la mía
salta uniendo en tu sabor,
en el sabor de tu deseo,
lo fugaz
a lo eterno.

Si es cierto
que el alma es aire
y que en la palabra espíritu
hay un soplo,
yo bebo,
muy poco a poco,
tu alma
en cada beso.

EN TI DESCUBRI LA LUZ

Como un grito de fuego
sale el sol en el camino,
igual que brota en tu boca
otro sol, otro delirio,
el goce extremo, posesivo,
de estar en ti y estar contigo.

Sale ese sol por tu garganta,
como un temblor, un estallido,
quema mis ojos, quema mis manos
e incendia al paso la piel que anhelo,
la piel del mundo, toda en tu cuerpo.

Sale de ti y a ti regresa,
porque eres tú la medida de los días.
Y la noche es clara en tus palabras
de tacto iluminado.
En ti descubrí la luz,
el filo al pensar, la vida plena,
el sol que en todo está,
el goce, el esplendor,
el ansia de amar
entra en tu boca
y yo con ella.

Alberto Ruy-Sánchez Lacy es autor de más de 25 títulos de poesía, novela y ensayo. Ha sido profesor visitante en diversas universidades entre las que están  Stanford, Middlebury y La Sorbonne. Es el director de la revista Artes de México.