Excerpts from “Zarpa” and “La Muerte del Amor” - Leónidas Lamborghini
   translated from the Spanish by Alexis Almeida


Zarpa


1.

the distance. the memory you
can’t see. the memory
of the distance without streets. the memory:
the launching of the memory
without streets


the launching of the memory in
the distance without
streets, the launching
of the memory that can’t see.


the distance that
launches in the memory
without seeing
the launching of the distance.


The distance: the launching
of the memory
on a street that doesn’t
remember
that doesn’t see.



2.

the window. the tones.
the pupils.
what it contemplates: the
window.


what the window
contemplates: the
dying.


the pupils of the window, the
tones that contemplate. the tones
of the dying. what
is contemplated in the dying:
the tones


the dying 
of contemplation. the
dying of contemplation
of the window. the
window of contemplating
the dying. the tones
of the dying. the
pupils of contemplation
dying
from the contemplated
window



6.

to see again:
to return
softly.


the desire
to flourish
softly
in the return.


the desire
to return
to flourishing. 


to return
in the desire
to return:
softly
softly



7.

the changed. that which
how it changed. that yourself.
what changed in yourself.
what there will be in the changed. the
how that changed.


what changed
or will have changed.
what had to
have changed. what
will have changed
in the will have. the yourself
in what there will be.
the yourself changed
in what there will be
of you, of
yourself



8.

the night. the
night of the faith. the
night of the no
of the night
of faith.



9.

the anchoring of the anchor. what
anchors. the anchored. that
which is anchored. the anchor
that anchors that which, the stranded
without. he who doesn’t know. to which the
snow. to which he doesn’t know
if anyone knows.


the anchoring of not knowing in
the snow that doesn’t
fall, the snow that doesn’t know
if anyone knows. And doesn’t
fall.


he who is anchored and
doesn’t know
what anchors him.


he who is stranded in
the snow that doesn’t fall. he
who is stranded in
the snow that isn’t there and
falls
without knowing if anyone knows
it isn’t there.


the anchor that anchors
what isn’t there
in the who knows if. the
anchoring anchored in the
who knows if.


the anchoring anchored
in the snow that doesn’t fall: which
is in what is
stranded
without knowing
if anyone knows.


that which can’t be known: the
anchoring of that which
can’t be known
in the snow that is
stranded and doesn’t fall.


that which he who is and
isn’t stranded but
doesn’t know that
he’s not there: or who knows.


the anchoring
of the anchor in the anchored
that doesn’t know if the snow or
doesn’t fall or falls or
if it isn’t stranded or if it is or
doesn’t know if or if it
isn’t there.




La Muerte del Amor 


Love
swimming in the soup
counting coins
        -     Money
        -     Money
        -     Money

A costume
without a carnival
passes by eating
slices of air and says
that it’s going to fix
the world.
        -    But it doesn’t have a mattress to float on–
And Love
calls him up. And the costume
tells him so much
bullshit
That Love ends up drowning 
in the soup.



Leónidas Lamborghini was an Argentine writer, poet, and playwright. He is the author of many books, including Verme y 11 reescrituras de Discépolo (1988), Saboteador arrepentido (1955), and El solicitante descolocado (1971). While studying at the University of Buenos Aires he worked in textiles, and later worked as a journalist. He is the brother of Osvaldo Lamborghini who was also a writer. He lived in México with his family between 1977 and 1990, and is the recipient of several prizes, including the Leopoldo Marechal prize in 1991, the Diploma al Mérito en Poesía in 2004 y, Arturo Jauretche prize in 2005.

Alexis Almeida grew up in Chicago. She is the author of the chapbooks I Have Never Been Able to Sing (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2018), and Things I Have Made a Fiction (winner of the Oversound Chapbook prize), and most recently the translator of Dalia Rosetti's Dreams and Nightmares (Les Figues, 2019).  Her translation of Roberta Iannamico's Many Poems will be out with The Song Cave later this year, and her first full-length book, Caetano, is forthcoming with The Elephants in 2025. She teaches at the Bard Microcollege at the Brooklyn Public Library and Pratt Institute, and edits 18 Owls Press.