Based off of a final project I had in Spanish class, this assignment I’ve created involves history and some form of artistic creativity–preferably writing, but I won’t limit you to just that medium!
Find an old archive: letter, postcard, photograph, memo, computer document, e-mail. Then, form a story surrounding the piece. Develop a general, basic narrative or back story and characters. It doesn’t have to be super long; it can be a haiku or a novella–your choice. Let the past inspire you!
My example is a postcard from World War I. It was discovered unsent and from an unknown author, and attached to the postcard was a small poppy, addressed to the soldier’s love. I wrote the following poem in Spanish about the card:
“Las amapolas”
Las amapolas están rojas
Como sus labios
Como sus mejillas después de te besaba
Por la primera vez
La hierba debajo de
Mi cuerpo
Tallos altos estrujados por mi peso
Me sienten la misma de su abrazo, de sus rumores en mi oreja
Suaves y apasionantes
(Las amapolas están rojas como mi sangre)
Recuerdo la carta que te envié
Recuerdo las memorias que volvían
Corriendo con cada trazo de escritura
Tu sonrisa en la luz del sol
Tu mano en mía
El aire fresco y abundante con la primavera y la posibilidad
De una eternidad contigo
Días innumerables de trabajo
Cayendo en mi cama
Exhausto
Días de ahorro y no noches de diversión
Y el momento de orgulloso
En que yo finalmente tenía
El anillo de diamante en mis manos
La noche antes de mi despliegue
Cuando tú lloraba y le pegaba a mi pecho
Exigía una razón por la que el país y la honradez
Eran más importantes de tú
(Nada es más importante de tú)
Ahora
Como esta noche y su anillo de diamante
El cielo es tu mirada
Y las estrellas son tus ojos
La Tierra de Nadie está finalmente vacía de gritos y gemidos.
Y estoy tan agradecido que la cosa final que yo voy a ver
Es tu cara
“The Poppies”
The poppies are red
Like your lips
Like your cheeks after I kissed you
For the first time
The grass beneath
My body
Tall stems crushed by my weight
They feel the same as your embrace, your whispers in my ear
Smooth and thrilling
(The poppies are red like my blood)
I remember the letter that I mailed you
I remember the memories that came
Running with each stroke of the pen
Your smile in the light of the sun
Your hand in mine
The air fresh and rich with spring and the possibility
Of an eternity with you
Countless days of work
Falling into my bed
Exhausted
Days of saving and no nights full of fun
And the moment of pride
When I finally had
That diamond ring in my hands
The night before my deployment
When you cried and beat my chest
Demanding a reason why country and honor
Were more important than you
(Nothing is more important than you)
Now
Like this night and your diamond ring
The sky is your gaze
And the stars are your eyes
No Man’s Land is finally empty of screams and moans.
And I am grateful that the last thing that I will see
Is your face.
