End of the Road

The footpaths converge at the mountain top,

tangles are oppressing my heart

in the murky home secrecy, rooms have disappeared

devoured by moss and birds.

The cloudy, faded sun trims its rays

and drags itself,

joining the healing clearness

appearing like a milky lenitive

with a flavor of oats, of morning songs.

Rebellions still run underground

between derision and shadows

between closed doors and merciless boots

aimed at the target but striking to the side.

Disoriented,

a woman traveler adrift

chained by links engraved with childhood

with the stream that still unweaves reeds.

I savor once again the brilliance of light

in fireclay vessels

and revisit farewells and a host of fond memories…

Unbridled horses in pasturelands

are a fleeting glimpse of a time as irreversible

as the waves of vagrant sea water.

Refusing to caress sphinxes without enigmas

I accumulate salty hours beneath my feet

praying the wait will not consume me.

CONSUELO HERNÁNDEZ is a Colombian American poet, literary critic, and worldwide traveler. Her most recent bilingual Poetry book, Wake of Chance / Estela del azar, received Honorific Mention at the International Latino Book Awards as Best book of poetry 2022.

She is the author of these poetry collections: Mi reino sin orillas (2016), Poems from Debris and Ashes / Poemas de escombros y cenizas (2006), Manual de peregrina (2003), Solo de violín. Poemario para músicos y pintores (1997), Voces de la soledad (1982), El tren de la muerte (Chapbook, 2018), Anthology of Latin American poets in Washington DC (2015), and the short collection Polifonía sobre rieles (2011). She also has written numerous articles on Latin American literature and two scholarly books: Voces y perspectivas en la poesía latinoamericana del siglo XX (2009), and Álvaro Mutis: Una estética del deterioro (1996).

Her distinctions include the Antonio Machado Poetry Prize, Spain; Finalist in the “Ciudad Melilla” International Poetry Contest, Spain, and “Letras de Oro” Poetry Contest, University of Miami. In 2005, Manual de peregrina was included in the Library’s Special Collection at American University. Her poetry appears in numerous anthologies around the world, and she has been invited for poetry readings in Latin America, the United States, Canada, and Europe in places such as: the New York Public Library, Haskell Center, Folger Shakespeare Library, Pablo Neruda Foundation in Chile, Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional in Madrid and in Barcelona, KJCC New York University, University of Kentucky, University of Pecs Hungary, the International Poetry Festival of Medellín, and many other venues. Her poems have been translated into English, Arabic, Italian, and Portuguese. She is Associate Professor Emerita at American University, and in 2017, one hour of the trajectory of her poetic journey was recorded and published by the Library of Congress in Washington DC.

She has Ph. D. and a Master’s degree from New York University (1991).  A Master’s degree from Simon Bolivar University in Caracas,  Venezuela (1982), and  BA from University of Antioquia, in Medellin, Colombia (1977).