Poetess is a sweet word
that we left aside because it embarrassed us
and yet and yet
it now returns in a handkerchief
that our foremothers tied
to the throat of their hoarse lyrics.
If he calls you tell him I’ve gone out
had Alfonsina asked while committing suicide
and that scared us.
Better poets than poetesses
we then agreed among us
to secure at least a small place
in the awaited undergrounds of the canon.
And however however
once again we are left out:
we didn’t know that poets
like to become vates
while to girls in inclusive language
the word vatess doesn’t ring a bell
because women don’t write
to convince anyone.
That’s why the poetess we all carry within us
seeks to come out of the closet right now
towards a new destiny already written
and that at the edge of its own revisited history
never got tired of waiting for us.
@thecat_translations ^^~