~~~YOU WANT ME WHITE~~~ You'd like me to be white as dawn You'd like me to be made of foam You wish I were mother of pearl, A lily Chaste above all others Of delicate perfume. A closed bud. Not one ray of the moon should have filtered me, Not one daisy Should have called me sister. You want me to be snowy, You want me to be white, You want me to be like dawn. You who have held all the wineglasses In your hand, Your lips stained purple With fruit and honey You who in the banquet Crowned with young vines Made toasts with your flesh with Bacchus. You who in the gardens Black with Deceit Dressed in red Ran to your Ruin You who keep your skeleton Well preserved, intact, I don't know yet Through what miracles You want to make me white (God forgive you), You want to make me chaste (God forgive you), You want to make me like dawn! Run away to the woods, Go to the mountain; Wash your mouth; Get to know the wet earth With your hands; Feed your body With bitter roots; Drink from the rocks; Sleep on the white frost; Renew your tissue With the salt of rocks and water; Talk to the birds And get up at dawn. And when your flesh Has returned to you, And when you have put Your soul back into it, Your soul which was left entangled In all the bedrooms, Then, my good man, Ask me to be white Ask me to be snowy, Ask me to be chaste. ~Alfonsina Storni~ (1892-1938)
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