PoemHunter.com

City That Does Not Sleep by Federico García L

12/5/2008 2:09:05 AM
Home Poets Poems Lyrics Quotations Music Forum Search Member Area Poetry E-Books Sites Mini Quiz
 

POEMS

LYRICS

MUSIC

QUOTATIONS

SEARCH

   
Federico García Lorca
   Poems  Comments  More Info  Stats 

 
 
<< prev. poem Poems by Federico García Lorca: 2 / 4 next poem >>
  
 
City That Does Not Sleep
 
  In the sky there is nobody asleep.Nobody, nobody.
Nobody is asleep.
The creatures of the moon sniff and prowl about their cabins.
The living iguanas will come and bite the men who do not dream,
and the man who rushes out with his spirit broken will meet on the
street corner
the unbelievable alligator quiet beneath the tender protest of the
stars.

Nobody is asleep on earth.Nobody, nobody.
Nobody is asleep.
In a graveyard far off there is a corpse
who has moaned for three years
because of a dry countryside on his knee;
and that boy they buried this morning cried so much
it was necessary to call out the dogs to keep him quiet.

Life is not a dream.Careful!Careful!Careful!
We fall down the stairs in order to eat the moist earth
or we climb to the knife edge of the snow with the voices of the dead
dahlias.
But forgetfulness does not exist, dreams do not exist;
flesh exists.Kisses tie our mouths
in a thicket of new veins,
and whoever his pain pains will feel that pain forever
and whoever is afraid of death will carry it on his shoulders.

One day
the horses will live in the saloons
and the enraged ants
will throw themselves on the yellow skies that take refuge in the
eyes of cows.

Another day
we will watch the preserved butterflies rise from the dead
and still walking through a country of gray sponges and silent boats
we will watch our ring flash and roses spring from our tongue.
Careful!Be careful!Be careful!
The men who still have marks of the claw and the thunderstorm,
and that boy who cries because he has never heard of the invention
of the bridge,
or that dead man who possesses now only his head and a shoe,
we must carry them to the wall where the iguanas and the snakes
are waiting,
where the bear's teeth are waiting,
where the mummified hand of the boy is waiting,
and the hair of the camel stands on end with a violent blue shudder.

Nobody is sleeping in the sky.Nobody, nobody.
Nobody is sleeping.
If someone does close his eyes,
a whip, boys, a whip!
Let there be a landscape of open eyes
and bitter wounds on fire.
No one is sleeping in this world.No one, no one.
I have said it before.

No one is sleeping.
But if someone grows too much moss on his temples during the
night,
open the stage trapdoors so he can see in the moonlight
the lying goblets, and the poison, and the skull of the theaters.

Federico García Lorca


Read poems about / on: dream, pain, sky, city, sleep, snow, spring, hair, moon, fire, death, butterfly, snake, rose, star, horse, kiss, dog

User Rating:

8.2 /10
(6 votes)



 
Comments about this poem (City That Does Not Sleep by Federico García Lorca) 

There is no comment submitted by members..

Click here to write your comments about this poem (City That Does Not Sleep by Federico García Lorca)
 
People who read Federico García Lorca also read:
Classic poets in PoemHunter.Com:

The complete list >>

Lyrics

The complete list >>

QuickPoll
Do you think PoemHunter.com is fast enough?
Yes
No

 Search in the World Poetry Database => 

 Search:   in:      tips
Hide the search box!

E-MAIL THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND - Found this page interesting? Recommend it to your friend! 
 Your E-mail:  
 Friend's Email:  
   
Your
Message:

 

(c) Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge..  About Us | Copyright notice | Privacy statement | Help
12/5/2008 2:09:05 AM. You Are Here: City That Does Not Sleep by Federico García Lorca

Home | Poets | Poems | Lyrics | Music | Quotations | Forum | Search | Random Poem | Free Poetry eBooks | Contests | Sites |
Submit a Poem | Manage Your Poems | Contact Us

Christmas Poems | Love Poems | Pablo Neruda | Death Poems | Sad Poems | Birthday Poems | Wedding Poems | Annabel Lee | Sorry Poems | Winter Poems