Stairway to Heaven, by Claire Joysmith

Stairway, by Jose Diaz (Mexico) contemporary.

​Stairway to Heaven*
                                    
De color atardecer
se visten los peldaños
en busca de la luna
acaso una noche profunda 
when the stars blossom into light
iluminan el sueño americano
atop a highrise in New York.
 
            *
 
When all are one
and one is all
entona aterciopelado
el azul que se asoma
entonces subiremos al cielo
por escalones que escurren
de atardecer a nuestra cita
con alguna nube 
ribeteada de plata.
  
Claire Joysmith

*Led Zeppelin (1971)

Claire Joysmith is a poet, writer, translator, and former academic, now retired, fascinated by poetry and ekphrasic poetry; she has previously published, together with visual artist José Díaz, the volume Écfrasis, published by the Tijuana Cultural Center (CECUT), Mexico. She was born in Mexico City, currently lives in the Yucatán, and has worked for many years on border-related issues, specifically the Mexico-U.S. border as well as the less visible Mexico-Guatemala border (the Suchiate River). She has published poetry throughout the Americas, in both English and Spanish, as well as three poetry books: Silencio de azules and Bacalar: Esbozos de agua y tinta (both forthcoming in English translation), and Écfrasis (partially bilingual). ​