AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO - José María Álvarez

195
AL OTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO. JOSÉ MARÍA ÁLVAREZ
American readers, who inherit this view more directly though
Eliot than through Baudelaire, perhaps, can readily identify with
the many Waste Land images in Alvarez’s poems. The sterility
of the city; the meaninglessp which is so pervasive that it cuts
across all cultures; estrangement from the world; alienation from
other people-all appear in these poems.
Trying now so alone
finally to get right with life
like two people hunted by the police
Learning to die without anyone
How much will one have buried in this life!
I gaze upon a city kneeling
before the mirror of Submission
The floors of a once-crowded club
The waiters
at that hour
when the waiters themselves are drunk
And I sigh
Oh Melancholy
I dance with you when I dance alone
And the poet-speaker, who periodically attempts to be more /
better than the age allows («You asked for / Gilding / I gave /
Gold») ends with an even greater cynicism: «Your whore and I
understand each other».
Alvarez uses the names of many popular heroes (movie actors,
singers, musicians, writers, celebrities) in his poems. The
romantic behind the cynic’s voice often comes through,
suggesting that one can at least turn to these models for comfort.