Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Juan Manuel Roca

Anatomy Lesson

We were given the body
To have our enemy nearer,
To watch him
So he doesn’t have time
To hide behind a tree
And wait for us to go by.
We were given the body
So that between him and us
There would be no mined ground
Or ambushes.
We were given it without asking,
Like the prince got the throne,
So he couldn’t
Mix wine with poison
Without abdicating his kingdom.
Later was the imposition
Of the habit of going with the body
All over the place,
Of having a bath with it
To avoid the surprise
Of a dagger flash behind the curtain.
We constructed the habit
Of following the body’s steps
And setting it the trap of the mirror,
Of not leaving it alone
Not even when it sleeps.
We were given the body
To have our enemy nearer.

LECCIÓN DE ANATOMÍA

LECCIÓN DE ANATOMÍA

Se nos dio el cuerpo
Para tener más cerca al enemigo,
Para vigilarlo
Y que no tenga tiempo
De apostarse tras un árbol
A esperar nuestro paso.
Se nos dio el cuerpo
Para que entre él y nosotros
No haya terrenos minados
Ni emboscadas.
Se nos dio sin exigirlo,
Como al príncipe el trono,
Para que no pudiera
Mezclar el vino con veneno
Sin abdicar de su reino.
En adelante se impuso
La costumbre de ir con el cuerpo
A todas partes,
De bañarse con él
Para evitar la sorpresa
De un brillo de puñal tras la cortina.
Construimos el hábito
De seguirle los pasos al cuerpo
Y tenderle la trampa del espejo,
De no dejarlo a solas
Ni siquiera cuando duerme.
Se nos dio el cuerpo
Para tener más cerca al enemigo.
Close

Anatomy Lesson

We were given the body
To have our enemy nearer,
To watch him
So he doesn’t have time
To hide behind a tree
And wait for us to go by.
We were given the body
So that between him and us
There would be no mined ground
Or ambushes.
We were given it without asking,
Like the prince got the throne,
So he couldn’t
Mix wine with poison
Without abdicating his kingdom.
Later was the imposition
Of the habit of going with the body
All over the place,
Of having a bath with it
To avoid the surprise
Of a dagger flash behind the curtain.
We constructed the habit
Of following the body’s steps
And setting it the trap of the mirror,
Of not leaving it alone
Not even when it sleeps.
We were given the body
To have our enemy nearer.

Anatomy Lesson

We were given the body
To have our enemy nearer,
To watch him
So he doesn’t have time
To hide behind a tree
And wait for us to go by.
We were given the body
So that between him and us
There would be no mined ground
Or ambushes.
We were given it without asking,
Like the prince got the throne,
So he couldn’t
Mix wine with poison
Without abdicating his kingdom.
Later was the imposition
Of the habit of going with the body
All over the place,
Of having a bath with it
To avoid the surprise
Of a dagger flash behind the curtain.
We constructed the habit
Of following the body’s steps
And setting it the trap of the mirror,
Of not leaving it alone
Not even when it sleeps.
We were given the body
To have our enemy nearer.
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