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Poem

Myriam Montoya

MESTIZA

There is in my blood an ancestral conflict
Reproduced in my children’s eyebrow arc
In the secret corner of their laughter
In their long bones
In the overwhelming return of their dreams
There is a dispute in my being
The unease of an ancient affront
The wait for other generations
Prolonged in me and my brothers
A desire of vengeance born of the denying of pardon
The heartrending struggling to escape
Between laughter and dance
A desire to revive the dead
Unbraiding their voices and the other languages
Recognising myself in their skin
And in the fortuitous finding of memory.

MESTIZA

MESTIZA

Hay en mi sangre una pugna ancestral
Reproducida en el arco de las cejas de mis hijos
En la secreta comisura de su risa
En sus huesos largos
En el regreso abrumador de sus sueños
Hay una disputa en mi ser
La desazón de un antiguo agravio
La espera de otras generaciones
Prolongada en mí y en mis hermanos
Un deseo de venganza nacido de negar el perdón
El desgarramiento luchando por escapar
Entre la risa y la danza
Un deseo de revivir los muertos
Destrenzando sus voces y las otras lenguas
Reconocerme en sus pieles
Y en el hallazgo fortuito de la memoria.
Close

MESTIZA

There is in my blood an ancestral conflict
Reproduced in my children’s eyebrow arc
In the secret corner of their laughter
In their long bones
In the overwhelming return of their dreams
There is a dispute in my being
The unease of an ancient affront
The wait for other generations
Prolonged in me and my brothers
A desire of vengeance born of the denying of pardon
The heartrending struggling to escape
Between laughter and dance
A desire to revive the dead
Unbraiding their voices and the other languages
Recognising myself in their skin
And in the fortuitous finding of memory.

MESTIZA

There is in my blood an ancestral conflict
Reproduced in my children’s eyebrow arc
In the secret corner of their laughter
In their long bones
In the overwhelming return of their dreams
There is a dispute in my being
The unease of an ancient affront
The wait for other generations
Prolonged in me and my brothers
A desire of vengeance born of the denying of pardon
The heartrending struggling to escape
Between laughter and dance
A desire to revive the dead
Unbraiding their voices and the other languages
Recognising myself in their skin
And in the fortuitous finding of memory.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère