The Spanish Riveter: From VOICES OF THE TWO SHORES by Agnès Agboton, translated by Lawrence Schimel

15

I linger, now,
before the mirror,
searching for the traces of your hands,
the paths that, so often,
Your fingers have travelled.

I linger, now,
before the mirror
and I know that,
in silence,
you await me.

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18

I am shadow then,
but there is no breeze,
and on my lips the winters
accumulate.

I am shadow then,
about to shout.

by Agnès Agboton

Translated by Lawrence Schimel

From VOICE OF THE TWO SHORES

by Agnès Agboton

translated by Lawrence Schimel

published by flipped eye publishing (2023)

Reprinted by permission of the author, translator, and flipped eye publishing.

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Buy books from The Spanish Riveter through the European Literature Network’s The Spanish Riveter bookshop.org page.

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Agnès Agboton was born in Benin but has been living in Spain for over thirty years. She writes in her mother tongue, Gun, as well as in both Spanish and Catalan. Her collected poems, Voice of the Two Shores, translated into English by Lawrence Schimel, won a PEN Translates Award and is a Poetry Society Translation Selection.

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Lawrence Schimel is a bilingual (Spanish/English) American writer, translator, and anthologist. His work,
which frequently deals with gay and lesbian themes as well as matters of Jewish identity, often falls into the genres of science fiction and fantasy and takes the form of both poetry and prose for adults and for children.