A sun behind us = Un sol caído avanza / by María Auxiliadora Álvarez ; with an introduction by Germán Guerra.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Álvarez, María Auxiliadora, author.

Guerra, Germán, 1966- author of introduction.

Language:

English

Spanish

Subjects (All):

American poetry--21st century.

American poetry.

Authors, Latin American.

Genre:

poetry.

Poetry.

Physical Description:

143 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

Bilingual English/Spanish.

Other Title:

Sol caido avanza

Place of Publication:

Brooklyn, New York : Akashic Books, [2025]

Language Note:

Text in parallel English and Spanish.

Summary:

María Auxiliadora Álvarez's winning entry of the Paz Prize for Poetry is in many ways a loving memoriam to her father, Oswaldo Álvarez Rojas, and a celebration of the long embrace that still warms María, her seven siblings, and their mother. Her poems explore sunlight as a metaphor for her father, holding her up from behind, illuminating her path forward, and also shining a light on memory, igniting nostalgia, and overcoming the grief of loss. Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, "Believe me, everything depends on this: to have had, once in your life, a sacred spring that fills the heart with so much light that it is enough to transfigure all coming days." In A Sun Behind Us, the poet's father is the sacred spring. "My father," writes Álvarez, "is in all my writing, and his writing is in all my family, keeping us standing tall even after his sudden departure, following a brief illness. His positive influence is still the sun behind our back, projected beyond our horizon. The potent lighthouse in our life as nomads. Illuminated by the same ray of light, the eight children together form a compact stained-glass window, now dividing the fifty-two weeks of the year among ourselves, each taking our turn in caring for our mother beside the Florida sea, where she still smiles each morning. Even those who live far away travel without hesitation to fulfill a promise whispered along with our father's last breath."

Contents:

tupida rama: no toques al animal herido = dense branch: don't touch the wounded animal

los ojos cerrados producen silencio = closed eyes produce silence

tus oídos no escuchan = your ears don't hear

nunca vino la palabra imaginada = the imagined word never came

llevo conmigo la sangre del ojo herido = I carry with me my wounded eye's blood

se han desprendido las hojas de los árboles = the leaves have let go of the trees

detenida en la línea perpendicular = poised on the line perpendicular

si te entumece el frío = if the cold freezes you

y entonces extendió las manos = and then he extended his hands

la imagen del ave en el plato = the image of the bird on the plate

sobre las imágenes fijas de la memoria = over the fixed images of memory

el pájaro cruzó la línea de tus ojos = the bird crossed the line of your eyes

habiendo quedado el oído entreabierto = the ear having remained half-opened

hablas sin compasión = you spoke without compassion

las palabras sirven de muy poco = words are good for very little

las sombras de las heridas = the shadows of wounds

en la penumbra de la estancia = in the twighlight of the room

detrás de tus ojos = behind your eyes

cuando reconozcas el fin = when you recognize the end

después de mucho esperar en silencio = after long waiting in silence

algunos animales sangran en el hielo = some animals bleed in the icy cold

cuando yo miraba de frente = when I looked into other people's eyes

escribo para los muertos = I write for the dead

cuando apenas faltaban unos pasos = when there were only a few steps left

en el lecho yace la desmemoria = on the bed lies unremembering

poema con dos versiones inseparables = poem with two inseparable versions

nuestro sea el silencio = let the silence be ours

flor cortada = cut flower

y otra vez el sí-mismo a la intemperie = and here is my own self once again, out in the storm

el pensamiento quiere estar solo = thought wants to be alone

¿de qué sobrevivirá el silencio? = on what will the silence survive?

el verano va quedando atrás = summer is getting left behind

avanzábamos sin aliento = out of breath we moved ahead

y ese árbol que parecía un hermano = and that tree that seemed like a brother

tan sola la soledad de la mesa = so lonely the solitude of the table

dame agua

me dice

por decir = give me water

he says

to say something

durante años observé cada noche = for years I watched every night

amable sepultura = kindly grave

que no digas que ese árbol = don't say that this tree

flor crecida por azar en lo baldío = flower that grew by chance in the barrens

propósito: es tu turno = objective: it's your turn

los arbustos que sembré con tanto esfuerzo = the shrubs I planted with such effort

barriendo a futuro: cielo = sweeping from the future: sky

esas ramas que de lejos = these branches from far away

habito un suelo húmido y solo = I inhabit a humid and lonely ground

la hoguera del otoño = the autumn bonfire

el río es el don = the river is the giver

la mano se cierra sobre la semilla = the hand closes around the seed

alta flor = tall flower

al frente de la casa había una gran planicie = in front of the house there was a large field

pero cuando avanzas contra la gravedad = but as you move forward against gravity

la mariposa cerrada = the closed butterly

todo muere sobre el ardor del asfalto = everything dies on the burning asphalt

di tu nombre suavemente sobre el mío = say your name softly over mine

nada queda ya = nothing now remains

agua que me arrastras = water that drags me along

quien dijo que no creía en el infinito = the one who said they didn't believe in the infinite

en esa época, la bóveda del cielo se erguía = at that time, the dome of heaven raised itself

y ahora ves acercarse a la alegría = and now you see happiness getting close

mientras se plenaba el vacío = while the emptiness fulfilled itself.

Notes:

Winner of the National Poetry Series' Paz Prize for poetry

ISBN:

9781636142579

1636142575

OCLC:

1484904639