Isaac Hernández. “Carmen is Gone” (Self-portrait). Oil pastel on paper, 2012. ©2012 IsaacHernandez.com
I woke up this morning with Carmen in my mind, just like every single day, and a sentence in my lips, “We haven’t ask death for an explanation,” except in Spanish: “No hemos pedido explicaciones a la muerte.” And I had to write a poem. I then proceeded to translate it to English (see below), which was easier than I thought, since the emotions are so there. With it I try to fill the void, just like I attempted to do working on the oil pastel above. It started as an orange and blue painting, and soon became very blue, and black.
A la Carmen
No hemos pedido explicaciones a la muerte
No pudimos entender lo cierto
No nos dio tiempo.
No nos acostumbramos al vacío de las horas
El pozo que ayer rebosaba con tu risa
Se traga ahora negro los segundos.
Ya no existen en el mundo lágrimas
Para inundar la emoción a flor de piel
De días sin fin y noches sin sueño.
Tu ausencia llena cada instante
Como el eco de tu voz en la distancia
Que quiere dar consuelo.
Dime por favor que la vida es sueño
Que despertaremos de la eterna soledad
Para reír juntos de nuevo.
To the Carmen
We haven’t asked death for an explanation
We couldn’t understand what’s certain
We had no time.
We can’t get used to the emptiness of hours
The well that yesterday overflowed with your laughter
Now swallows, black, the seconds.
No more tears in the world remain
To inundate our raw emotions on edge
The endless days and sleepless nights.
You absence fills each and every instant
Like the echo of your voice heard in the distance
That wants to comfort us.
Please tell me that life’s a dream
That we’ll wake up from eternal solitude
To laugh again together.
©2012 Isaac Hernández
