Footprints to Mantaro Valley (a poem in Spanish and English)

Footprints to Mantaro Valley
(English version)

In what retreat art hid?-

Where falling mountains groanIn shadow and among

The rapids of the Rio?Is not your name Mantaro Valley?

Beyond the footprints of the Andes--?

I can hear your voice in echoes

I can hear thy voice, divinely low.I do but know thy by a glance

As the clouds above me know? .Ah! Gone like that, but love-love!

Hath found my naked soul!

4-20-05 (#627) Note: written after seeing the Mantaro Valley, beyond the Andes.

Huellas al Valle del MantaroPor Dennis SilukTraducido por Rosa Peñaloza

En que retiro el arte se esconde?

Donde Montañas decrecientes gimenEn la sombra y entre

Los rápidos del río?No es tu nombre Valle del Mantaro

Más allá de las huellas de los Andes-?

Puedo oír tu voz en ecos

Puedo oír tu voz, divinamente bajo.Pero te conozco por una mirada

Como las nubes arriba conocen... .Ah! ido así, pero amor-amor!

Encontraron mi desnuda alma!

The Butcher of Lima(Dedicated to: Mario Poggi)

English Version

Prologue: I do not wish to judge anyone, lest I be judged, and God forbid should I be judged by anyone but He. Thus, I write this following poem with a word of discretion to the reader likewise, that all is not as it seems, is it. Having said that, it has been said the Psychologist Mario Poggi-whom I met on three occasions and purchased a sculpture from, and received one from him as a gift-has learned the hard way-that is, the curse of revenge has long wings; hence, revenge is for the Lord. Why? Because both the avenger and the victim are cursed thereafter (one does not have time to make amends if that is indeed his wish; the other, loses his life slowly as he lives on). Thus, "The Butcher of Lima," is really a picture of the sculpture Mr. Poggi calls, "The Face of Anguish"; or at least it is to me. During our three meetings, I did not find in his eyes guilt for his murderous deed, for he rid a city of a maniac who was cutting up bodies and burying them,-and perhaps saved a few lives, did he not? But rather a sadness that he did not close his eyes during the process of his slaying of man called "The Butcher," and now the sculptures he has molded with his hands are the eyes of his soul.

The Poem
"The Butcher of Lima"

The Psychologist, he killed

"The Butcher of Lima,"So it has been said?

With a belt around his neckHe strangled him to death!

As he sucked in his breath--Head carved like a fish!?

Poetic Justice!

He died a purple death

The "Butcher of Lima?."And no one wept.

And the media cried the name:"Poggi! Poggi!?you're insane!"

It is as fate would have it

Motionless and forgotten Are the cold blades of redemption.#628 (4-21-05)

Spanish Version

"El Descuartizador de Lima"

Por Dennis L. Siluk
Traducido por Rosa Peñaloza

El psicólogo, él mato al

"Descuartizador de Lima,"O eso es lo que dicen ...

Con una correa alrededor de su cuello

Lo estranguló hasta matarlo!Mientras él se asfixiaba-

Cabeza cortada como un pescado!...

Obra de justicia

El murió asfixiado

El "Descuartizador de Lima..."Y nadie lloró

Y la media gritaba el nombre:

"Poggi! Poggi! ...eres un enfermo!"

Es este como el destino lo tendríaInsensitivo y olvidado

Son las espadas frías de redención.

Two Poems by the Author and Poet, Dennis Siluk, while traveling in Peru and Central America, April, 2005. Said the Author,"The Mantaro Valley was captivating...." as it led him out of the Andes, and through the valley itself, into Huancayo, Peru. For more information on this poem, or on the second poem, "The Butcher of Lima," you may want to review the article by Marissa Cardenas,Columnist-Correo Newspaper "Cultural" page, dated 23 April, 2005. Rosa P.