Poems by José Pablo Juárez Arreola (Mexico)

José Pablo Juárez Arreola (Morelia, Mexico) is an award-winning poet and storyteller translated into languages such as Bengali, Malay, and Italian. He has earned global recognitions including the Naji Naaman Prize (Lebanon), the Mewadev Laurel Award (India), and an Honorary Doctorate (Morocco). Distinguished by the CNEI in Mexico and the Consulate of Isla Negra (Chile), his recent participation in Mili Dueli stands out.


The Return
José Pablo Juárez Arreola

​I am losing my mind, my love,

I no longer feel affection,

no longer perceive reality.

Time no longer belongs to me.

​When you return,

knock on the door with force;

if possible, tear it down with a kiss.

Shout my name out loud,

but whisper yours into my ear,

so I know you’re truly back.

​Turn on the lights,

let the house see you once again.

Take me with you.

​Walk barefoot, trace my footsteps.

Before you reach the balcony railing,

stop and gaze at the moon—

but don't stare too long, for it enchants.

It bewitches, it calls to you, and it cures your solitude.

​Return to where you are happy,

and take what’s left of me with you.




If I Die
José Pablo Juárez Arreola


​If I die,

I will remain weeping for you

beneath the earth,

my body dressed in mourning

for your absence.

​I will love no one in the afterlife.

I will be a cry, a lament

in the eternal night;

a soul in torment

whispering its love

like a chill upon the skin.

​I will be a mournful mist,

a love shattered by death.

I will be the subtle wind

that stirs the souls of the living;

​a broken love

that turned into drizzle…

not because it waits for you over there,

but because it longs

for you to be eternal in this life.