Best Santiago Poems
Proyecto de tren instantaneo entre Santiago y Puerto Montt by Nicanor Parra, Translated by T. Wignesan
Soliloquio del Individuo by Nicanor Parra, Translated by T Wignesan
(Homage to Nicanor PARRA, 1914-2018, the Chilean ANTI-POET, winner of the "Cervantes Prize" (the highest literary honour for writers in Spanish), four times nominated for the Nobel Prize, studied Physics (Brown University), Cosmology (Oxford University) and taught maths and physics for some 40 years, but styles himself as the Poet who writes "Anti-Poems" - a fresh
chastising wind to debunk self-styled poets hardly born to the métier but drunk with their own effete and ephemeral voices. T. Wignesan, Paris, 2016.)
The Anatomy of the Instantaneous Train (plying) between Santiago and Puerto Montt
The engine of the instantaneous train
occupies the place of the destination (Pto Montt)
while the last coach
straddles the station of departure (Stgo)
This type of train affords the passenger
the advantage of arriving instantaneously at Puerto Montt
at the very moment he boards the last coach
in Santiago
The rub is in order to continue voyaging
the traveller has to keep moving with his luggage
through the train
until he gains the first coach
Once the passage has been realized
the passenger may proceed to exit
the instantaneous train
which has remained stationary
during the entire voyage.
• Observation: This type of (direct) train serves only the uni-directional journey.
Source: Poem read by Nicanor Parra as invitee to the International Poetry Festival in the Netherands in 1989 (?)
© T. Wignesan – Paris, 2016
Categories:
santiago, allegory, extended metaphor, imagination,
Form:
Free verse
i gave you my hand,
with out knowing you,
igave you my body.
not a clue of what you'd make me feel,
i gave you my heart,
blindly risked the unattempted,
i gave you a child.
unaware i just gave my life and
my all to a stranger
and from all i gave i also recieved
excitement, pleasure, love, and
happyness from once a stranger
came to be my friend, my partner
my lover, my one and only you
i love you
felipe santiago
Categories:
santiago, dedication, devotion, girlfriend-boyfriend, lost
Form:
Verse
The sea!
What does the sea mean
without an old man?
And the waves,
The rambunctious waves,
What are they doing exactly?
The waves work
They seem to play.
And as you see,
The sea is free
But still respects the land.
We come and visit it
Because that’s what we need.
Yet, it treats us all the same
We, as kids playing and fighting
and shouting..
Rarely did we learn to swim
When the tides were galloping.
The sea works in silence
But the waves do it with violence.
Know yourselves to know it better
Because Santiago said very little about it.
Chokri Omri
(March 2021)
Categories:
santiago, life,
Form:
Free verse
Windswept lovers blown to & fro
Lost at sea so long ago
Their time togehter was bittersweet
Years have past, their love repeats
Picking up where they last left off...
Windswept lovers from long ago
Their names were Domingo & Santiago
Lost at sea, their love transcends
Their love repeats...
Categories:
santiago, lost lovelove,
Form:
Prose Poetry
I know rich men who have lived under bridges
and poor men that have never starved a day in their life.
Conozco a hombres ricos que han vivido bajo puentes
y a hombres pobres que nunca han pasado hambre un dia en sus vidas
Necesito que sepas
I need you to know
Sus suenos no estan destinados a permanecer entre las horas de 11pm a 8am
Your dreams are not meant to remain between the hours of 11pm to 8am
Creceran si los riegas
They will grow if you water them
Si se riega usted mismo
if you water yourself
Categories:
santiago, career, dream, growing up,
Form:
Free verse