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 7th 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.