THEY SAY Poem by Gloria Posada

They say
that when the Earth spins,
at different moments, cities
lie under the same sky

that there is a place
where the oceans mingle
in shades of blue

that sand landscapes crumble
to teach us the immutable beauty of the rocks

that the butterfly may be born
and die in one day

that the clouds above the sea's horizon
point to the existence of islands

that light sparkles remain in the air
after the fluttering

that something strange happens
when the canoe touches water for the first time

that the hunter will never find his quarry
and feeds on pretenses and shades without knowing

that dead turtles' shells
draw stone patterns

that deserts blossom
to become sand again weeks later

that birds are the first to arrive
at a new island

that the serpent's skin changes
and remains in the mud
while the body glides

that feathers descend from the flight
to remind us that the weightless also falls

that plants have strange forms
of movement and motionlessness

that butterfly cocoons and wings
are traces of the passing time

that another jungle exists in branches
and leaf carpets

that brittle empty eggs from the last hatch
become part of the dust covering everything

that deer horns cannot be devoured
because each being leaves behind some food for the earth

that in each generation
hunters and quarries exchange places
found another jungle

that when the winds come
from the wrong direction
we shall not be able to go back home

that to each of us in our lives
ambushes are laid
until in the last one we perish

that amputated limbs hurt
and can feel the heat

that the temperature will rise
and the drought will kill moisture in soils,
plants, bodies, mouths

that a compass is useless
at the North Pole

that the cold gets into the bones
and one day everyone will unite to stay warm

that no one remembers
what they saw at birth

that the Moon
is a desolate place
Death
is a black-winged cloud
and descends

that in parallel to this world
there are other, narrated ones
the voice creates the invisible

and they say more words
sentences that are oblivion
distance produced
by all certainty