Grito (Scream)

Vivimos enamorados
No de nuestros amores
sino de anhelos oscuros
que como pajaros negros
enloquecen nuestros suenos.

Vivimos en un tiempo de locura,
Dulce y amargada,
que embriaga nuestros corazones
con desesperacion y coraje.

Si, vivimos bajo un cielo borracho
Buscando una esperanza en la divina
y no tan divina locura.

Trudi Ralston
February 2nd, 1982/ August 18th, 2013.

I wrote this poem initially my second semester in graduate school in Austin, Texas, where I had started my master's degree in Spanish and Latin American literature.The somber tone of the poem as to the existential deterioration of the human condition seems as relevant now as it felt to me 31 years ago. I revised and tightened its length, but changed none of its content or mood.