Featured poet: Alfonso Grez

Alfonso Grez (Santiago de Chile, 1973) studied law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica and film production at New York University. One of his film shorts won the Premio Pudú at the 7th Valdivia Film Festival in the category of Video Fiction. He has published four books of poetry, Ciencia Aplicada, Defcon 3, Spot and Centrífuga.

 

 

my life in the cube

i press the button
the bed makes itself and folds away
i’m hungry
i press the button since
i’m thirsty
i press the button water comes out
and more water and more
i take a bath
i press the button
and am dried.

if i want information i press the button
it arrives
in the form of light or piles of paper
i press the button
a window opens all the way
i press the button
and it closes.

when i want company
i press the button
if i want light i press the button
if i want darkness.

if i want emotions i press the button
later on food
later on drink i press the button.

all day long
faced with the slightest necessity
if i need a boost of health
i press the button

if i want to sleep
i press the button
the people in life very close to me
press their buttons

if i want to forget
i press the button.

(comercial break)

as if through a prism, the world passes
through the card and transforms
into a rainbow of fantasy, all color,
when the world gray and black passes through the card
the trees are cotton candy and the cars, cradles,
and all the hard things turn into birthday balloons,
streamers and surprises when the world,
as if through a prism, passes through the card.

— translated by Jessica Sequeira