One year, already asleep,
someone I did not expect
stood at my window.
Get up! And my eyes
saw plumes and swords.
Behind those, mountains and seas,
clouds, beaks, and wings.
Sunsets, sunrises.
Look at her there! Her dream,
hanging from nothing.
Oh desire, fixed marble,
steady light, steady streaming waters
of my soul!
Someone said: Get up!
And I found myself in your room.
Rafael Alberti (1902–1999) was the author of several collections of poetry. His most well-known,
Sobre Los Angeles (Concerning the Angels), first published in 1929, is forthcoming in English translation from Four Way Books. His many honors include the Premio Cervantes and the America Award.
John Murillo is the author of the poetry collections
Up Jump the Boogie and
Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry, winner of the 2021 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. He is an associate professor of English at Wesleyan University.