I will not waiver or protest
that the wait is hard to bear;
The parent-to-be is patient
for the child he cannot see, knowing
that eternity is rounding unknown
seas to fishing nets. My
beloved, I wait. I stand upon
the beach, my arms are wide, you
must swim to the sound of me
and lights undreamed. We shall be
coins of sides alike and sleep together
in the shade. You are the growing
length of me that lays
upon a floor of leaves
and says, there is no end to light
or closing of the day. There are only
clarions that pierce the dark
with mirror songs like these.
Para mi hijo
No renunciaré ni me quejaré
de que la espera es difícil de soportar;
El futuro padre es paciente
ante el hijo que no puede ver, sabiendo
que la eternidad rodea de
mares desconocidos las redes. Querido
mío, yo espero. Estoy de pie
en la playa, mis brazos extendidos,
debes nadar hacia el sonido que emito
y hacia las luces inimaginadas. Seremos
como monedas de caras similares y dormiremos juntos
en la sombra. Tú eres una extensión creciente de mi
que yace
en una manta de hojas
y dice, no hay fin para la luz
ni se acaba el día. Hay solo clarines
que penetran la oscuridad
con canciones especulares.
Spanish translation by Sacramento Roselló and Marcela Tietjen
Photo: Charles Bane Jr. with his son. Credit: Capehart Studio
Charles Bane, Jr. is the author of The Chapbook ( Curbside Splendor, 2011) and Love Poems ( Aldrich Press, 2014). The Huffington Post described his work as “not only standing on the shoulders of giants, but shrinking them.” A contributor to The Gutenberg Project, he is a current nominee as Poet Laureate of Florida.
