FORTINO SAMANO IS JUST WAITING FOR

THE BULLETS.
Poem by Raul Oscar Ifran
Punta Alta. Buenos Aires. Argentina.

Execution of Fortino Samano bv Gustavo Casasola. Mexico D.F. 1917

There´s a photograph showing the magical instant that never ends:
Fortino Samano is just waiting for the bullets,
the big brimmed hat still projects a shadow over the eyes in calm.
He´s facing the death nibbling at the last cigar.

The wild horses gallop flat out by the plains

too many far away for one more ride,
Zapata blows the ball of the Revolution
and nobody can turn the sight,
nobody can stop the time.
The dice of destiny have been thrown
and Fortino Samano is just waiting for the bullets.

He stands before the unfeeling rifles with hands into the pockets
And the nameless executioners don´t understand his smiling face
Good bye tequila, rebel women good bye
Are there any canteen at the other side?
What does a man feel between life and death?
What he feel is dust in the wind
The bullets can knock down his human reality
But nothing can knock down his name.

Fortino Samano is just waiting for the bullets

He´s not yet thirty years old
He´s unblindfolded, facing to the death
While shines the ash of the last cigar.
The legend goes something new each day.