DINNER
They stuff their mouths with food when they talk about
the house. When they talk about money and what it
takes to earn it. She walks through the rooms like a
queen. Points out the tablecloths, the plates, the
fabric on the kitchen furniture. He offers us a beer,
the moisture on the glass is the sweat of his brow.
Get down on your knees and put your head there, he’ll
say much later. But for now they thank God that they
are what they are, that they have what they have.
Fresh pasta, soft cheese, a discreet Spanish wine that
we drink with delight.
—translated from the Spanish by Chris Michalski, performed by The CS Field Trio
—from Rattle #25, Summer 2006
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Pablo García Casado’s first book of poems, Las afueras, was made a finalist for the Spanish National Prize for Poetry and established him as one of the most important and revolutionary poets in Spain. Two further volumes have followed and his work has been included in numerous anthologies of contemporary Spanish poetry.
