I saw a photo of “I Viaggiatori” a sculpture by the artist Bruno Catalano, symbolizing the void created by leaving one’s country, one’s family, one’s people for another life. It made me think of the stories of the past when Spaniards went out into the world and left their families through need or for adventure and I wrote this poem about the void that people feel.
The space inside
We both see the same constellations
But you are far from here.
We both roast under the same sun.
But I am alone, my dear.
The moon smiles down on us
The stars glitter as we stare .
But you are not with me
And I am not there.
I am here toiling,
listening to the sounds
the rumble of machines,
Shouts in tongues abound
Laughter which hides
the pain of that hole.
Which lies inside our hearts,
the ache in our souls
we left our families
and our lands out of need.
to protect their futures
Or their mouths to feed
We found the solution
though not always the best.
For our breaking hearts
But our heads discarded the rest.
I write you letters
and imagine your voice .
I comfort myself in the labour
The drudgery of my choice.
Each exhausting task
is one day closer to you,
to my homeland, my bedrock,
seeing family anew
The empty space
will be open again.
To be filled with the joy
of our reunion.
This is what I tell myself.
To get me through the days.
It doesn’t matter if they lie
To stop us leaving when we say
Wait for me my darling
One day we can ease
our pain of isolation. To a brighter future we’ll have the keys.
Wait for me darling look
At the glitter of the stars
One day we’ll dance again together
No longer weeping from afar
One day reunited
Look at the moon, my dear.
No longer to be parted
The empty space inside will disappear
@redalphababe
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