from Poemas Y Antipoemas (1954). The first is in the previous issue.
Oda a unas palomas
(Ode to some pigeons)
How fun they are
These pigeons that make fun of everything
With their little coloured feathers
And their swollen round abdomens
They drift from the dining room to the kitchen
Like leaves in the autumn
And they settle in the garden to eat
Flies, a little of everything,
They peck the yellow stones
Or sit on the bull’s back
More ridiculous than a shotgun
Or a rose full of fleas
They are experienced flyers though.
They hypnotise the sick and lame
Who believe that in them they see
The explanation of this world and the next
But you mustn’t trust them because they’ve got
The instincts of a fox,
The cold intelligence of a reptile
And the wisdom of a parrot
And are more hypnotic than a professor
And an abbot that’s gotten fat
So the moment you take your eyes off them they flap away
Like crazy firemen
And enter a building through the window
And steal all the money
We’ll see if just once
We can all really get together
And stand firm
Like hens that defend their chicks.
Oda a unas Palomas
Qué divertidas son
Estas palomas que se burlan de todo
Con sus pequeñas plumas de colores
Y sus enormes vientres redondos.
Pasan del comedor a la cocina
Como hojas que dispersa el otoño
Y en el jardín se instalan a comer
Moscas, de todo un poco,
Picotean las piedras amarillas
O se paran en el lomo del toro:
Más ridículas son que una escopeta
O que una rosa llena de piojos.
Sus estudiados vuelos, sin embargo,
Hipnotizan a mancos y cojos
Que creen ver en ellas
La explicación de este mundo y el otro.
Aunque no hay que confiarse porque tienen
El olfato del zorro,
La inteligencia fría del reptil
Y la experiencia larga del loro.
Más hipnóticas son que el profesor
Y que el abad que se cae de gordo.
Pero al menor descuido se abalanzan
Como bomberos locos,
Entran por la ventana al edificio
Y se apoderan de la caja de fondos.
A ver si alguna vez
Nos agrupamos realmente todos
Y nos ponemos firmes
Como gallinas que defienden sus pollos
© 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.
