El Alpinista
No imaginé, montaña,
que algún día
tu roca iba a fallarme,
la que creí diamante,
impenetrable y pura,
no imaginé ese día
y escalé decidido,
sin vértigos, tu altura.
No imaginé
la dimensión exacta,
ni el peso de mi fardo
que ingenuamente quise
llevar hasta la cima,
hasta el sitio más alto,
y soltar mis amarras
definitivamente.
No escatimé
ni esfuerzos ni renuncias,
ni riesgos ni valores,
ni posibles dolores;
no pude ver
que ingenuamente estaba
escalando un escollo
de arena movediza,
incapaz de fraguarse,
de agradecer el paso
de este audaz alpinista
que abandonó su valle
por besar simplemente
tu espesa cabellera
y fundar en la brisa
la más simple caricia.
No comprendiste nada,
montaña de espejismos,
no valoraste el sueño
de escalar tu ladera.
Te agrietas, te me pierdes,
te achicas, te disuelves,
y presiento en tu cima
que el viento poco a poco
va a despeinar tu altura,
va a disipar la bruma:
descender es el riesgo
que corre el alpinista.
The Climber
I never imagined, mountain,
that one day
your rock would let me down,
the one I thought was diamond,
impenetrable and pure,
I never imagined that day
and I climbed up determined,
without vertigo, your height.
I never imagined
the exact dimension,
or the weight of my burden
that I naively wanted
to carry to the summit,
to the highest place,
and let go of my ties
once and for all.
I spared no
efforts or sacrifices,
nor risks or values,
nor possible pains;
I couldn't see
that I was naively
climbing a hurdle
of quicksand,
incapable of solidifying,
of appreciating the step
of this bold climber
who left his valley
just to kiss
your thick hair
and found in the breeze
the simplest caress.
You understood nothing,
mountain of mirages,
you didn't value the dream
of climbing your slope.
You crack, you slip away,
you shrink, you dissolve,
and I sense at your peak
that the wind little by little
is going to mess up your height,
is going to clear the mist:
descending is the risk
that the climber takes.