El Sueño del Ahogado / Dream of the Drowned Man
- El Sueño del Ahogado / Dream of the Drowned Man
Inspired by Lola Álvarez Bravo’s photocollage
A long walk through brush and mesquite, we find him floatingHalf his face in the stream, half dreaming
We sit sweetly on bare branches, on stacks of matchbooksOur crinoline skirts won’t get wet—we don’t approach
We brought glass jugs of water for the thirsty
Whoever heard of Swan Lake on the Rio Grand?That’s us—a dozen ballerinas, a prince in the water
He might have been a teacherHe was definitely a worker
Pobre el pobre que no pudo cruzarTanto querer, queriendo
Fue suficiente el camino¿Qué le cobró el ogro del puente? ¿Su dinero, o su vida?
If he keeps dreaming like this—Because where would he go
His sisters are home—when is he going to call
Too much water can be bad for youCan turn you back into the salamander of the inhale
Someone plucks at violin strings and the prince rises [End Page 181]
He takes our hands, one at a time, to waltz on the bankSwings our sweeping skirts over the shore
We dance squares around the water for the thirstyMore and more people—each wanting—want people—each wanting—want
The clouds point out of the wild, the corner of sky, the bridge we’re all trying to get to
To the corner where you could still live, if onlyIf only we’d arrived soonerIf only we could pull you out of the riverIf only [End Page 182]
Vértiz, Vickie was born and raised in southeast Los Angeles. Her articles and poetry have been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, KCET Departures, the Cobalt Review, and in the anthologies: Open the Door (McSweeney’s and the Poetry Foundation), and Orangelandia (from Inlandia Press). She has taught creative writing to adults and young people at places like 826 Valencia, the Claremont Colleges, and UC-Riverside. In 2013 she released a poetry collection, Swallows, with Finishing Line Press. She is currently at work on a memoir about her education, titled: Smart: Growing up Gifted and Brown in Southeast Los Angeles.
