iv
iv is a video poem based on the fourth part of Jhavier Romero’s poem: “Chronicle of a Night Owl” which, in the author’s words, is an approach to nightmares.
IV
Hay veces
que logro dormir durante un instante de lluvia
y luego, cuando despierto,
siento que ha crecido una flora de cables tenebrosos,
de bocinas,
de perillas,
y de programas de computadora
sobre mi blanda materia subterránea.
Y parece que hay un bombillo aprisionado
como un pájaro eléctrico entre mis manos,
y un soliloquio de motor en mi cerebro
poco a poco enmudece mis latidos.
Miro el televisor en sombras
y me atemorizo.
IV (unofficial machine translation)
Sometimes
I manage to sleep for a fleeting moment during the rain,
and then, when I wake up,
I feel as if a tangle of shadowy wires,
speakers,
knobs,
and computer programs
has sprouted over my soft, subterranean body.
And it seems as if a light bulb is trapped
like an electric bird in my hands,
and a motor's soliloquy in my brain
slowly silences my heartbeat.
I stare at the television in shadows
and am terrified.