The Shelter of Your Chest
Guard my backside from the thin knives
of their dreary eyes
guard me between azaleas and marigolds
guard me between wood and musk
in your misty meadow
guard me, between the roots of cedar and maple
in your snow covered mountains
guard me burrowed in the wet sand
ocean waves brush
guard me between twilight and the early light
between mist and rain, thunder and storm
in the rainbow, guard me between azure and purple
guard me between the sheets of your bed
tucked in like balled socks
guard me from disdain
guard me::
guard me inside, outside,
over, under and beside you.
Let us guard each other from the fallible
keep the torchlight on, raise your red rose
I am your warrior.
El refugio de tu pecho
Protege mi espalda de las filosas dagas
de los ojos tristes
protégeme entre azaleas y caléndulas
protégeme entre madera y almizcle
en tu pradera brumosa
protégeme, entre las raíces de cedro y arce
en tus montañas cubiertas de nieve
protégeme enterrado en la arena húmeda
que las olas acarician
protégeme entre el crepúsculo y la luz temprana
entre niebla y lluvia, relámpago y tormenta
en el arco iris, guárdame entre azul y morado
protégeme entre las sábanas de tu cama
escondido como calcetines en bola
protégeme del desdén
protégeme::
protégeme por dentro, por fuera,
encima, debajo y a tu lado.
Protejámonos el uno al otro de lo fallido
mantén la antorcha encendida, levanta tu rosa roja
yo soy tu guerrero.
Por Raúl Sanchez
Raúl is a translator currently working on the Spanish version of his inaugural collection «All Our Brown-Skinned Angels» nominated for the 2013 Washington State Book Award in Poetry. A 2014 Jack Straw Alumni, and one of the mentors and judges for the 2014 Poetry on Buses Project. He participated in the TEDx Salon event in Yakima WA, October 2014. He teaches annual Day of the Dead workshops in Seattle and Yakima. Currently a Poetry Mentor for the PONGO Teen Writing Project in the Juvenile Detention Center and a member of Seattle Arts and Lectures WITS, Writers in the schools program.