GLADYS CARMAGNOLA
-----------------
IF YOU ARRIVE TODAY

If you arrive today, remember
that you have to come first to my patio.

Which flag should I wave for you to know
that truly I am waiting for you?
And how can I contain myself
so that I don't set off a serious scandal:
greeting from so far away
a brother.

Tell me which language you understand best
and I'll decide to study it.
I don't want there to be interference
although we speak in signs.

It's in this we have experience:
for centuries we began to understand.
After so much practice, perhaps with you
we'll finally see the results --.

(Oh no -- without realizing it,
without wanting to, I've made come out the bitter tone
of the person who knows all the limits
and cannot avoid them.)

Sit here. On the side, the jasmine
will scent you with white.
See how fresh the water is from this jar.
And how sweet the fruit from the guava tree.

I'm still waiting for you here, under the generous
shade of the mango tree.
It is January. It is Saturday.
Don't delay any more, my brother.