Cabaret

The poem should portray her
only as you saw her at the time
when she wanted to give herself to your eyes and soul.

Made of the tough memory of the flesh,
she was cunning and candid
because she sensed
the mark another heart can leave.

That’s how you desired her.

You wanted to subject yourself to the disdain
that youth’s gold promises.

You were ready
to suffer the severity in the eyes of a woman
from the best cabaret: life.

Traslated from Spanish by Rowena Hill