El Pozo

Por Eleuterio Santiago-Díaz

Arte por Andrés Miró-Lugo

The well is the mirror of the night.

Its obscurity is profound and comforting.

It has the soul of an entity enormously old.

It dwells in an agrestic setting

in a hidden section of the forest,

beneath the hoariest trees.

It springs up gently from a crack in the rock at its bottom

and never abates.

We call it El Pozo, with warmth and veneration.

It has been the source of life of our fathers and forefathers

since time immemorial.

We bow before it before taking its waters.

Afterwards, we express gratitude.

El Pozo is at the end of its lifetime.

Soon, we will abandon it for a modern water system.

It will dry up and crumble away.

It will soon be forgotten.

On this date of November 1963,

I kneel on the ground and drink from its waters one more time.

A piece of eternity takes root in me.

The well is a passageway into the night.

Thanks to it, henceforth

the night will inhabit me.