Poemas Y Antipoemas (1954). The second translation will appear in the next issue.
Sinfonía de Cuna
(Lullaby)
Once, while wandering
about in a park
By chance I found myself
With an angel
Good Day, he said
And I answered him.
He spoke in Spanish,
I Spoke in French.
Dites moi, don angel.
Comment va monsieur.
He extended his hand,
I grabbed him by the foot.
You always should get a good look,
At what an angel is like!
Vain like a swan
Cold like a crowbar
Fat like a turkey
Ugly like you
He scared me a little,
But I didn’t let him go.
I searched through his feathers
And I found them
Hard like the hard
Shell of a fish
Just think if it were Lucifer!
This made him mad
And he attacked me
With his Golden sword
But I ducked just in time.
He was the silliest angel
I will ever see.
Dying of laugher
I said Goodbye, Sir
Off you go on your way
Have a nice day
Get run over by a car
Get hit by a train
And now the story’s over
The End.
Sinfonía de Cuna
Una vez andando
Por un parque inglés
Con un angelorum
Sin querer me hallé.
Buenos días, dijo,
Yo le contesté,
Él en castellano,
Pero yo en francés.
Dites moi, don angel.
Comment va monsieur.
Él me dio la mano,
Yo le tomé el pie
¡Hay que ver, señores,
Cómo un ángel es!
Fatuo como el cisne,
Frío como un riel,
Gordo como un pavo,
Feo como usted.
Susto me dio un poco
Pero no arranqué.
Le busqué las plumas,
Plumas encontré,
Duras como el duro
Cascarón de un pez.
¡Buenas con que hubiera
Sido Lucifer!
Se enojó conmigo,
Me tiró un revés
Con su espada de oro,
Yo me le agaché.
Ángel más absurdo
Non volveré a ver.
Muerto de la risa
Dije good bye sir,
Siga su camino,
Que le vaya bien,
Que la pise el auto,
Que la mate el tren.
Ya se acabó el cuento,
Uno, dos y tres.
© Guy Franks 2010
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Guy Franks is not what you'd call "talented" or even "handsome", but he had the good sense to not give up learning a language after GCSE and can now translate interesting Latin American poetry.
Guy Franks is not what you'd call "talented" or even "handsome", but he had the good sense to not give up learning a language after GCSE and can now translate interesting Latin American poetry.
