Painting By Hugo Consuegra

Caminante Sin Lunas

Tú, en la palabra
(You, inside the verse)
Here, hidden in verse,
behind the exact viagra that defines
your essence,
I traverse your landscape
of hills and valleys,
of coves and rivers,
of palm trees and ceiba trees,
of doves without light.

And, with the foam of the sea
and blue embraces of
seagulls and memories,
I envelope your mountainous waist,
your coral thighs.

I cross the paths of
ancient cathedrals,
down sad alleyways
with empty carriages containing
neither passengers nor drivers,
past weeping poplars,
unadorned gray arches,
silent palm trees,
without a breeze or a sound.

Silence has gone
with its cloak of darkness;
the perfume of legend and mystery
that surrounded your countenance
has been stolen:
the slave laughs while his sorrow weeps
to the steps of an ancestral dance,
impatiently desiring for history
to return with its triumphal march.

Meanwhile, hidden,
sheltered by verse,
I embark on the long
journey of exile and remembrance,
searching for the word that is
incessantly out of my reach,
the word that allows me to recreate
you once again.
_____________________________________

Poder del ensueño
(The Power of dreams)
I rediscover myself
in verse bearing your name,
dreaming of you
in each moment of clarity.
_____________________________________

Ausencia y soledad
(Absence and Solitude)
In the shadow of remembrance
the birds of memory sleep:
broken-winged-trills at
the shore’s edge,
drifting away in a sea without waves.

Even the fish do not come to the shore
and the wandering wind,
distances itself silently
without leaving a trace in the sand.

Up above, a seagull waves
goodbye to the horizon
as the waning afternoon, drenched
in blood, slowly collapses
behind the slopes, while
the shadows arrive in an
immense gray procession of penitents,
to rest on the shoulders of my anguish.

Oh, solitude,
virgin without yearning!
listen to my silent cry,
while I remain alone, one
among the shadows.
____________________________________

El poder del recuerdo
(The Power of Memory)
I no longer reside in the darkness
of your being,
that escapes in silent embraces.
But here, in the core of my being,
I jealously possess you,
with the green envy of remembrance.
____________________________________

El camino del destierro
(The Road of Exile)
On the path of the forgotten,
death comes to nostalgia,
funeral services for remembrance.

Each step is a beat of silence,
that sorrow repeats like an echo:
solitude swings in the balustrades.

In the hills a brightly lit star,
-the pilgrim’s beacon.
The traveler takes fewer steps
while anguish waits around
every corner.
____________________________________

Sabiduría
(Wisdom)
They will summon you
to the edge of oblivion.
Better to ignore the words
of those who don’t understand.
To be true to oneself,
be yourself and rediscover
yourself in verse and with
an embrace.
____________________________________

Recordar es regreso
(Remembering is returning)
Wanderer of time:
the past is the present
fixed in words;
the roots are never lost,
neither diminished nor augmented.
All that is needed is a pound on the chest
Or a kiss from the breeze;
remembering is returning
without borders or time.

Poems By Julio Enrique Hernandez-Miyares
Translations By Dennis Aberle

En El Dialogo De Las Palmas

se esconde

el secreto de la brisa.

In The Dialogue Of Palm Trees
hides
the secret of the breeze.

translation by jhm

Matilda Preparing To Blow Out 18 Candles

A Matilda
Nuestra Nieta Del Alma
En Su Cumpleanos

Eres la nina bella y consentida,
que nos trajo en la vida,
la esperanza de continuar
el sueno que preserva
la presencia en el tiempo y la distancia.

No dejes de pensar en tus mayores
que te miran abrirse como rosa
que impregna de perfumes
el recuerdo.

Si alguna vez llegaras a la isla,
roza con tu mirada las palmeras
y eleva una oracion por tus abuelos
que siempre viviran mientras los suenes

Julio E. Hernandez-Miyares

For Matilda
Our Beloved Grandaughter
On Her Birthday

You are the beautiful and pampered girl
that brought to our lives,
the hope of continuing a dream
that maintains our presence
in time and space.

Never forget your elders
who watch how you blossom like a flower
Impregnating with it’s fragrance
our memories.

If ever you were to reach the island,
brush the palm trees with your gaze
and say a prayer for your grandparents,
who will always live as long as you think of them.

translation by javier hernandez-miyares

Postcard From A Time Traveller by Javier Hernandez-Miyares

Recordar Es Regreso

Caminante del tiempo:
el pasado es presente
que se fija en palabras;
la raiz no se pierde,
ni se achica ni agranda.
Basta un golpe en el pecho
y el besar de la brisa;
recordar es regreso
sin fronteras ni tiempo

julio e. hernandez-miyares

Remembrance Is Return

traveller through time:
the past is always present
fixed in words;
its roots are immutable,
never shrinking nor growing longer.
A pang of guilt
or the caress of the breeze
is enough;
remembrance is return
without frontiers
outside of time

translation by javier hernandez-miyares

En 1903, inspirado por un discurso pronunciado en el Senado de la nueva República de Cuba por su gran amigo don Manuel Sanguily, con el que éste cerraba un largo debate sostenido con don Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante sobre la conveniencia o no para Cuba de la aprobación del Tratado de Reciprocidad con los Estados Unidos, Enrique Hernández Miyares escribió un bello soneto titulado “La más fermosa”, basado en un episodio de El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha, mencionado por Sanguily en su discurso. El poema apareció publicado en el periódico El Mundo bajo el seudónimo de Crisóstomo. Y dio lugar a una de las más sonadas polémicas literarias en los anales de las letras hispanoamericanas, pues el Diario de la Marina, sorpresivamente, dio cabida en sus páginas a la acusación de plagio hecha por un supuesto escritor andaluz que afirmaba que el poema se debía a la pluma del ilustre poeta sevillano Francisco Rodríguez Marín. La calumnia creció y la polémica tomó proporciones extraordinarias. Las acusaciones llegaron a tal gravedad, que una parte de la opinión pública se inclinó de antemano a condenar al poeta cubano, hasta que se recibió el cable de España en el que Rodríguez Marín declaraba que el soneto no era suyo y así se conoció la verdad y se disolvió la conjura contra Hernández Miyares. El poeta pudo gozar de su triunfo sobre la calumnia y sus amigos lo agasajaron en uno de los grandes teatros de la capital con un banquete de reconocimiento y admiración que tuvo carácter de apoteosis

Julio E. Hernandez-Miyares

Brief History of A Sonnet
Translation by Javier Hernandez-Miyares

In 1903, inspired by a speech given in the Senate of the newly established Republic of Cuba, by his great friend Manuel Sanguily; a speech which closed a long debate that Sanguily had with Antonio Sanchez de Bustamante, concerning whether the law of reciprocity with the United States should be adopted, Enrique Hernandez-Miyares wrote a gorgeous sonnet titled “The Most Beautiful”, based on an episode from the novel Don Quijote, which Sanquily alluded to in his speech. The poem appeared in the newspaper “El Mundo” under the pen name Crisostomo. It’s publication provoked one of the most famous scandals in the history of spanish-american literature, and was ignited by an article published in the newspaper “El Diario de la Marina”, which was written by an Andulsian scribe of dubious character, who claimed that the sonnet was plagiarized and the true author was the illustrious Spanish poet Francisco Rodriguez Marin. This calumnious accusation set in motion a frenzy of speculation, which due to it’s promotion in the press, created a consensus of public opinion against Hernandez-Miyares. Finally, a cable arrived from Spain in which Rodriguez Marin declared that he was not the author of the sonnet. This ended the polemic and Hernandez-Miyares was able to celebrate his victory with his friends and supporters at a banquet in his honor.

In 1917 a book titled La Mas Fermosa (Historia de un Soneto) was published by the National Academy of Cuban Arts and Letters. This book tells the story of the sonnet and preserves the news articles and letters that were generated during the battle for the paternity of La Mas Fermosa. The Book is available at The New York Public Library.

[tags]Enrique Hernandez-Miyares,Julio Hernandez-Miyares,Javier Hernandez-Miyares,La Mas Fermosa,Cuban Sonnets[/tags]

Instantaneous drawing by Javier Hernandez-Miyares for El Poder Del Recuerdo
This is an unpublished poem that my father sent me, and i present the poem in the original Spanish followed by my translation.

El Poder Del Recuerdo

Ya no habito en la noche
de tu cuerpo
que se escapa en abrazos
de silencio
Pero aqui,
en el centro de mi centro
te poseo constante,
al conjuro esmeralda
del recuerdo

poem by Julio E. Hernandez-Miyares

The Power of Memory

I no longer live in the twilight
of your body,
which escapes
my silent embrace.
But here now,
in the center of my center,
i forever hold you,
within the emerald spell
of remembrance

Translation by Javier Hernandez-Miyares