Voices

We came by air
We came by sea
We arrived tied to a car's seat,
arrived clutching the wheel of a plane
We left dodging sharks and coastguards
We left drilling a hole in the air,
left holding onto a comet's tail
We arrived swimming, vomiting our guts out
our lungs collapsed
our bones scorched, dehydrated.
The others are lost on the floor of the sea
and condemn our escape
secretely, desperately hoping to follow in our steps.

Poem by Reinaldo Arenas

Translated by Jaime Manrique
Published in The World Magazine