THAT’S HOW THEY ARE
They make us cry
if we take them seriously.
They remove our mask.
They cut off our vital passages
like an obsidian knife.
They offend, they elevate
they provoke, they produce tremors
they enlighten, they obscure
they deceive, they hit the mark.
They hurt like the crack of a whip;
they open paths
through the thicket
of the human heart.
They make life impossible for us
if we commit ourselves.
They can make us laugh
and they produce joy
when they approach us gentle and light.
They oppress
if they come charged with a dark substance.
They generate tumultuous states of affairs;
they build monuments
that remain
through time.
They express great truths
that flow through the ages.
They cause slow deaths
or sudden deaths.
They infuse life
or they resurrect dead people on the spot.
That’s how they are.
That’s how words are.
1990
From: Levantando la palabra: Buenos Aires: Ayala Palacio Ediciones
Universitarias. 1991.
