DIGITAL ARCHIVE · BUENOS AIRES

CLAUDIO FORTES POETRY

WORDS TO READ SLOWLY

Collected work

A living archive.

Poems arranged from the most recent publication. Search for a word, an image or a subject.

12 poems
NO. 12

Pampa Sky

Golden
path
of
wheat

Silence
of wind
that caresses
that punishes

Motionless
sun
over houses
of grandparents

The solitude of immensity
And the boldest and most perverse act

Of finding one another.
pampalandscapewheatClaudio Fortes
NO. 11

Delirium

Delirium
of you.

I ask for you,
I write you,
I search for you.
I read you.

I see myself
without wings,
with fire,
without ego.

In your sea of salt
I start to swim.

I don't know where
your smile remained,

the one that drives me delirious.

I read you...
lovedesireabsenceClaudio Fortes
NO. 10

War

I feel an immense calm, I am fine
Now I understand everything there are no culprits
One day you will feel the same as me
I am with you because you are with me

The man from Corrientes died beside me
By God I could do nothing
I just close my eyes and think
When will it be my turn

We are all with you
Mom misses you and Dad does too
But they know you will return
They are proud of you

My love I know you will return
And I will hold you and love you
We will live the things we dreamed of
I have your golden medal in my hand

Will you miss me? You don't need to go
I do it for you and for everyone
Think about it, don't go
Everything will turn out fine
warfamilyfearClaudio Fortes
NO. 09

War, Minimal Version

The man from Corrientes died beside me.
The medal is still in my hand.

Now I understand everything:
there are no culprits.

I feel calm.

Mom, Dad, don't wait.
wardeathfamilyClaudio Fortes
NO. 08

Fear

Fear
of routine
of not finding you
of kissing you cold
distant
forgotten.

Fear
of not seeing
the curve
of your back
naked
warm
raw.

Fear
of what happened
of what did not happen
and above all

of farewell.
fearloveroutineClaudio Fortes
NO. 07

Are You There?

It falls,
it gets lost,
it leaves.
Everything.

The dream
collapses,
the smile,
your hair,
the sky,
your sun.

When nothing remains,
I still have

your gaze.
loveabsencegazeClaudio Fortes
NO. 06

The Neighborhood of the Elderly

Everyone said hello,
everyone did.

Shoes,
shirts
and smiles.

For every need,
another elder.

Siesta,
wine
and sun.

Some are no longer here,
neither are the others.

But I could swear
I saw one of them
in me.
neighborhoodold agechildhoodClaudio Fortes
NO. 05

Public University

Your family
dreamed of it,
the desire,
your children,
the example.

The emptiness
of the classrooms,
of the souls,
of eternal
dreams.

It was not the closing
of the universities,
it was the end
of so many dreams.

You have one token left.
educationuniversityfamilyClaudio Fortes
NO. 04

Almost Winter

Falling
into the void
of oblivion

cutting through
the air
of your breath

leaping
into the sea
of your pupils

Pause
or ending:
the same

Let nothing remain
not the cinema
nor the film
nor your breath
winteroblivioncinemaClaudio Fortes
NO. 03

In Kisses

The cup
on the table
the spoon
that does not turn
the lamp
lit
like your eyes
in kisses.
lovekissesintimacyClaudio Fortes
NO. 02

GPT Is Today's Culture

It informs you.
It educates you.
It gives you ideas.
It replaces you.

It knows you
better than you do.

It is your second brain.
It is your first choice.

It lies to you, so much...

That you no longer need anyone else to do it.
technologyartificial intelligencecultureClaudio Fortes
NO. 01

One Real Word

I walk
among
the dead
under the sky.

Angry with injustice.

On the asphalt,
cold,

like applause
from fake photographs.

Give me just one word
that is real,

like the poem you never wrote.
truthinjusticecityClaudio Fortes
Retrato en blanco y negro de Claudio Fortes

The author

Claudio Fortes

Claudio Fortes writes from memory, love and the tensions of contemporary life. His poetry moves through the intimate and the social with a direct, visual and unadorned voice, attentive to what remains when everything else is lost.

Buenos Aires, Argentina · @claudioffortes

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