Mario Benedetti, famed Uruguayan writer and activist, died Sunday at the age of 88. Renowned throughout Latin America, Benedetti wrote 60 novels, poems, short stories and plays on politics, love and life in Montevideo, where he was born and lived much of his life, barring his 12 years’ exile during the rule of a military dictatorship. When he returned, he took to having a daily lunch at a local restaurant, where fans would stop to say hello and ask for autographs. Below, a poem by Don Mario.

Let’s Make a Deal

Compañera,
you know
that you can count on me,
not up to two nor until ten
but just count on me.

If sometimes
you notice
I’m looking into your eyes,
and you recognize a streak of love
in mine,
don’t raise your rifles,
or think I’m delirious;
despite that streak,
or perhaps because of it,
you can count
on me.

If at other times
you find me
unsociable without reason,
don’t think you’re at fault;
you can still count on me.

But let’s make a deal
I would love to count on you—
it’s so beautiful
to know you exist,
one feels alive;
and when I say this
I want to say count
even if it’s up to two
even if it’s up to five
not so you feel pressured
to come to my aid,
but to know
with certainty,
that you know you can
count on me.

*Photo courtesy El_Enigma.