Let’s aim for poppy seeds
that are actually red.
If we try hard enough I know
we’ll find them. These are the secrets
in that line.
It had so much forest
I had to take it with me
carry it. I wish I could
do the same with people: hold them
close to let them go, inside.
Red has as many letters as the times your eyes
moved horizontally from one side to the other.
I will count the number
of poppy seeds that fit on your tongue.
Carry it.
Too many is not my favorite
number. So many sometimes is.
Laura Cesarco Eglin is a poet and translator from Uruguay. She is the author of two collections of poetry, Llamar al agua por su hombre (Mouthfeel Press, 2010) and Sastrería (Yaugurú, 2011), and a chapbook of poems, Tailor Shop: Threads (Finishing Line Press, 2013), co-translated into English with Teresa Williams. Cesarco Eglin’s work has been published in a variety of journals, including Modern Poetry in Translation, Puerto del Sol, MiPOesias, Pilgrimage Magazine, The Acentos Review, Bourbon Penn, Turbulence Magazine, Periódico de Poesía, and Metrópolis. Cesarco Eglin’s poems are also featured in the Uruguayan women’s section of Palabras Errantes, Plusamérica. Her poetry and translations have been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize.