Poetry: Miguel Hernandez

(The Spanish government says it will formally

recognise one of Spain’s best known poets as a

victim of the dictatorship of General Franco.

This poem was written to be read at the unveiling

of Gonzalo Sánchez Mendizabal’s statue of Miguel

Hernández in Madrid on 7^th November 2010)

 

The bold gesture of the open mouth,

The face as tender as a lover’s breath,

Eyes that know we are forced apart

By prison walls and wild beliefs.

Wasted lungs and a crumpled heart

Reaching out to catch her onion blood.

An ugly life made beautiful

Left poems like dead kisses on our lips.

They tried to shut his mouth for ever,

But it’s open again now.

Sample Chapters

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Poem for Anna •  Mandelstam and Mayakovsky •  The Lighted Window  •  Alone with the Years •  The Poet Tires •  Something there is •  La Madrugada •  Postcard of a Golden Retriever •  Shellfish •  Miguel Hernandez •  At the Edge of the Ebro •  Gone •  Playing Cards •  That's Where I Belong •  An Abstract Perfection •  Pearls in a Glass •  Poem for Susie •  Mornings in Malasaña •  Leo •  A Garbled Message •  Gnome •  Old Friends •  More About Penguins •  Ghosts •  Poem for Nelly •  Good Friday in Salamanca •  T.L.P. •  What It Is About •  The Blind Man And His Guide •  The Smell Of Winter •  For No Other Reason •  Poem for Linda