Poem
Vito Apüshana (Miguel Ángel López)
BREAST HILL
The family cemetery is now one day away on foot.We have all gathered at the base of the Epitsü hill.
We carry our light belongings:
coffee and corn
laughter and sobs . . .
prepare their forces.
The presence of man — the Jaguar remains among the women —
The younger brothers play the music:
some play the horn
others the seed whistle.
We pass silently by a nest of Ko`oi wasps,
we rest on the bank of a dry stream,
where children invent a bath in its sand
and play at the rabbit jump.
We resume our walking covered
by the burnt red of the sun.
Patsuuatushi, the great uncle, listens to the oldest of the owls
and shows us the refuge where we will live the night.
© Translation: 2008, Nicolás Suescún
CERRO DE LA TETA
CERRO DE LA TETA
El cementerio familiar ahora se encuentra a un día de camino.Todos nos hemos reunidos al pie del cerro Epitsü.
Cargamos con nuestras ligeras pertenencias:
el café y el maíz
la risa y el llanto . . .
preparan sus fuerzas.
La presencia del hombre – Jaguar continúa entre las mujeres –
Los hermanos menores hacen la música:
unos tocan la trompa
y otros el pito de semilla.
Pasamos en silencio bajo un nido de avispas K0`oi,
descansamos a orillas de un arroyo seco,
donde los niños inventan un baño en sus arenas
y van tras los saltos del conejo.
Reanudamos el andar cubiertos
por el rojo quemado del sol.
Patsuuatushi, el tío abuelo, escucha el más viejo de los búhos
y nos indica el refugio donde viviremos la noche.
© 2001, Vito Apüshana
From: Encuentros en los senderos de Abya Yala
Publisher: Casa de las Americas, La Habana
This poem was originally written in Wayuu and was then translated into Spanish.
From: Encuentros en los senderos de Abya Yala
Publisher: Casa de las Americas, La Habana
Poems
Poems of Vito Apüshana (Miguel Ángel López)
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BREAST HILL
The family cemetery is now one day away on foot.We have all gathered at the base of the Epitsü hill.
We carry our light belongings:
coffee and corn
laughter and sobs . . .
prepare their forces.
The presence of man — the Jaguar remains among the women —
The younger brothers play the music:
some play the horn
others the seed whistle.
We pass silently by a nest of Ko`oi wasps,
we rest on the bank of a dry stream,
where children invent a bath in its sand
and play at the rabbit jump.
We resume our walking covered
by the burnt red of the sun.
Patsuuatushi, the great uncle, listens to the oldest of the owls
and shows us the refuge where we will live the night.
© 2008, Nicolás Suescún
From: Encuentros en los senderos de Abya Yala
This poem was originally written in Wayuu and was then translated into Spanish.
From: Encuentros en los senderos de Abya Yala
BREAST HILL
The family cemetery is now one day away on foot.We have all gathered at the base of the Epitsü hill.
We carry our light belongings:
coffee and corn
laughter and sobs . . .
prepare their forces.
The presence of man — the Jaguar remains among the women —
The younger brothers play the music:
some play the horn
others the seed whistle.
We pass silently by a nest of Ko`oi wasps,
we rest on the bank of a dry stream,
where children invent a bath in its sand
and play at the rabbit jump.
We resume our walking covered
by the burnt red of the sun.
Patsuuatushi, the great uncle, listens to the oldest of the owls
and shows us the refuge where we will live the night.
© 2008, Nicolás Suescún
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