IN THE PORT OF SANTA LUCÍA Poem by Julián Malatesta

This ship is crazy.
Yesterday it was seen due south,
Later we saw it sailing in the wake of the sun
Gathering night in its keel.
Now it goes round and round in the quays.
If the wind gets stronger there is a risk its wood will break.

This ship is crazy.

It carries a corpse on board
And the captain has not wanted to cast it into the sea.
The man has hit the bottle
And has a disturbance in his head;
The dead man dances on deck,
He agitates the memory of the ship and drives the compass crazy.

This ship is crazy.

In the port of Santa Lucía — the patroness of the blind —
The crew wanders around without work,
For even though they are old hands and skillful
No one employs them:
The shipping companies don't forgive
Their having abandoned ship.