JOSE EMILIO PACHECO ~

 

A postcard for Jorge Guillen

 from Berkeley, California

           (in his ninetieth year)

Shadowy the servitude of the mole

to the root, sunk deeper and deeper

    to anchor

    the earth;

so it cannot slip

    out into the void

in its incessant turning.

Through the root the shadow ascends the tree,

blooming as leaves of light on the branch.

    So Guillen's

    poetry

draws its power from the darkest places,

and his philosopher's stone, his alchemy

    routes back

the shadowy matter

—of which we are, by misfortune, part—

    transformed

into a tree of light which blesses with fresh air.

Thank you, Jorge Guillen, for lending it brightness,

for teaching us to see this world.

translated by George McWhirter

_____________________

Selected Poems

New Directions, 2026

ISABEL LETELIER ~

 

I S A B E L   L E T E L I E R

Isabel Margarita Morel Gumucio was born on Jan. 3, 1932, in Santiago, Chile, died Oct 30, 2026 in Santiago

Ms. Letelier, center, and Mr. Letelier dancing at their home in Bethesda, Md., in 1976, a few days before Mr. Letelier was killed.Credit...Marcelo Montecinon, via Letelier Family