Goddamn the Empty Sky
Violeta Parra

Goddam the empty sky
and the stars at night
goddamn the ripply bright
stream as it goes by
goddamn the way stones lie
on dirt or on the street
goddamn the oven's heat
because my heart is raw
goddamn the laws
of time the way they cheat
my pain's as bad as that.

Goddamn the mountain chain
the Andes and the Coast
goddamn Mister the most
and least amount of rain
also crazy and sane
and candour and deceit
goddamn what smells so sweet
because my luck is out
goddamn the lack of doubt
what's messy and what's neat
my pain's as bad as that.

Goddamn the Spring
with its plants and blossom
and the color of Autumn
goddamn the whole damn thing
birds on the wing
goddamn them more and more
'cause I'm really done for
goddamn Winter to bits
along with Summer's tricks
goddamn the saint and whore
my pain's as bad as that.

Goddamn getting on your feet
for the stars and stripes
goddamn symbols of all types
Venus and Main Street
and the canary's tweet
the plants and their motions
the earth with its erosions
because my soul is sore
goddamn the ports and shores
of the enormous oceans
my pain's as bad as that.

Goddamn the moon and weather
desert and river bed
goddamnit for the dead
and the living together
and the bird with all its feathers
is such a goddamn mess
schools, places to confess
I tell you what I'm sick of
goddamn that one word love
with all its nastiness
my pain's as bad as that.

So goddamn the number eight
eleven nine and four
choir boys and monsignors
preachers and men of state
goddamn them it's too late
free man and prisoner
soft voice and quarreler
I damn them every week
In Spanish and in Greek
thanks to a two-timer
my pain's as bad as that.