UNBOUNDED LOVE POEM
First (or last)
there is C.
whom I am dating
now
but before (and still)
there is Z.
even though
he’s still in Berlin
and then (but definitely
not now)
there is E.
whom I saw
for the first time
in two years
in North Carolina
(at the coffee shop
of our first date
over the black coffees
of our first date)
even though I
was still with C.
and E. and I (me)
agreed
that maybe someday
we would try again
even though she
too,
is with somebody else.
But my friend
(who’s also pining)
(who’s also another)
told me that
connections
once made
are never broken
and that
time
is a social construct
and like nothing
is truly straightforward
time is really
circular
and cyclical
and parallel
and so
here
is C. beside me
practicing her kajukenbo
her hair
falling across her face
and
here is E.
and the blue heron
we saw fly
over the flooded river
the day she told me
she loved me
and here
and now
is Z.
and the sweating summer day
we ran
through the twelve-story
Unisphere fountain,
holding hands.
——
Prima(o ultima)
c'è C.
con cui sto uscendo
ora
ma prima (e ancora)
c'è Z.
sebbene
lei sia ancora a Berlino
e poi (ma sicuramente
non adesso)
c'è E.
che ho visto
per la prima volta
due anni fa
in North Carolina
(al negozio di caffè
del nostro primo appuntamento
sopra il caffè nero
del nostro primo appuntamento)
anche se io
stavo ancora con C.
ed E. ed io
ero d'accordo
che forse un giorno
ci sarebbe piaciuto tentare di nuovo
sebbene anche
lei
stia con qualcun altra.
Ma la mia amica
(anche lei si strugge)
(che è anche un altra)
Mi ha detto che
i legami
una volta fatti
non si spezzano
e che
il tempo
è un costrutto sociale
e come niente
è veramente semplice
il tempo è davvero
circolare
e ciclico
e parallelo
e così
Qui
accanto a me c'è C.
a praticare la sua kajukenbo (1)
i capelli le cadono
sul viso
ed
ecco E.
e l'airone azzurro che
abbiamo visto volare
sopra il fiume in piena
il giorno in cui mi ha detto
che mi amava
e qui
e adesso
è Z.
e quel giorno d'estate quando
sudate corremmo
per i dodici piani della
Fontana Unisphere, (2)
tenendoci per mano.
(!) Kajukenbo. It is a practical and beautiful martial art that combines the best techniques and training methods of five traditional martial arts systems.
The name KAJUKENBO was created by combining the first few letters of each style: KA (Karate), JU (Judo and Jujitsu), KEN (Kenpo), and BO (Chinese boxing).
(2) The Unisphere is a 12-story high, spherical stainless steel representation of the Earth. Located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the borough of Queens, New York City, the Unisphere is one of the borough's most iconic and enduring symbols.
ILINCA POPESCU is a femme Romanian immigrant living in Oakland, CA. She studied creative writing at Warren Wilson College and believes in hot pink dinosaur earrings and feminist solidarity politics. Some of her previous work can be found in Lunch Ticket, and she can be contacted at a.ilinca.pop@gmail.com
