Like you I
Love love, life, the sweet smell
Of things, the sky-blue
Landscape of January days.
And my blood boils up
And I laugh through eyes
That have known the buds of tears.
I believe the world is beautiful
And that poetry, like bread, is for everyone.
And that my veins don’t end in me
But in the unanimous blood
Of those who struggle for life
Love,
Little things,
Landscape and bread,
The poetry of everyone.
— Roque Dalton (1935 – 1975)
(Translated by Jack Hirschman)
Roque Dalton was a Salvadoran poet, essayist, journalist, political activist and intellectual, considered one of Latin America’s most compelling poets. He was assassinated four days before his 40th birthday.
