saltbright:ecc-poetry:misteerie:ecc-poetry: la verdad / the storybookTengo miedo a decirtede mi madr

saltbright:ecc-poetry:misteerie:ecc-poetry: la verdad / the storybookTengo miedo a decirtede mi madre, porque ella tiene sangre en vez de miel.Cuando yo era desierto,su amor no podía arreglarme.Trató chistes, vergüenza,panóptica. Nada.Temo decirte de María (aunque su nombre no es María)porque ha hecho llorar a su hija.María vigila a cuatro niñes,hijes y sobrines, y ella sabe quesi aparta la mirada,esta américa les dispensacomo cenizas. ICE ha detenidoa su esposo. Pero no essuficiente. También debellenar al dolor sin fondo de su hija, y sonreírse como primavera,y dejarte pesar su corazón como fruta pulposa.Tu madre no es muñeca de perla.¿Por qué debe ser la mía?I was afraid to tell this storyof a mother, and soI made her better than a mother.She crosses the deserton feet of dainty marvel,each christening teara pure crystal.This woman, Maria(we may as well call her Maria)has cried rios grandes,her life a pastel tragedyso huge and blunt you can’t helpbut accept it.Her mind is a breastplumped with milk:she thinks only of feeding.She telegraphs gestureslike windmillsto tolerant living rooms.Stainless, how she gleams!No mildew, no algae,no rust.A mother just empty enoughto glove your white hand.-elisa chavezFor more information on the Miss Translated series, it’s on Goodreads???? Whoa! I didn’t put it there. I am afraid to tell youof my mother, becauseshe has blood instead of honey.When I was desert,Her love couldn’t fix me.She tired jokes, shame,Panóptica*. Nothing.I’m afraid to tell you about María(although her name is not María)because she has made her daughter cry.María watches over four children,daughters and nephews, and she knows that if you look away,this America dispenses themlike ashes. ICE has arrestedHer husband. But it isn’tEnough. You shouldFill the endless painYour daughter has, and smileLike spring,And allow yourself to feel her heartLike pulpy fruit.*Your mother is not a doll of pearl.Why should mine be?im not fluent in spanish nor am i a translator! corrections/additions are 100% welcomedPanóptica, im not sure what this means, i looked around and found a mexican band that does electronic music, and also a drug company.I wasnt sure of how to translate this sentence sp if anyone has any more insights pls lmk Blessed by another reader translation! I love these so much.Fun fact: This poem is based on the divide between the Latine immigrant experiences represented in “American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins and my own experiences as a Chicana whose family works on immigrant rights.  [I’m learning Spanish and still FAR from fluent, so please forgive my errors! There were a few parts I read a little differently than @misteerie did in their reader translation, so I thought I’d try translating it, too. Most of this is the same as theirs, but I put the differences in orange in case anyone else likes comparing translations lol.]the truthI’m scared to tell youabout my mother, becauseshe has blood in place of honey.When I was a desert,*her love couldn’t fix me.She tried jokes, shame,surveillance.* Nothing.I’m afraid to tell you about María(even though her name isn’t María)because she’s made her daughter cry.María watches over four kids,her own and her siblings’,* and she knows thatif she looks away,this America will scatter themlike ashes. ICE has already takenher husband. But it’s notenough. She* must also fill her daughter’sbottomless grief, and smilelike springtime,and leave you to weigh her heartlike fleshy fruit.Your mother is not a pearl doll.Why should mine be?–[*cuando era desierto: I was really indecisive over whether to translate “desierto” to a more definite emotional state, like “depressed” or “desolate,” but (and I might be totally off here, both in interpreting the language and the poetry) I interpreted the original line as a metaphor, so translating it literally to “desert” seemed truer to that.*panóptica: this word choice really interested me and is what made me want to try actually translating this poem instead of just doing it in my head. I’m not sure, but I think it’s a loanword coming from “panopticon,” so “surveillance” seemed to fit.*cuatro niñes, / hijes y sobrines: I wanted to preserve the gender neutral language, but I think my way just ended up kinda clunky. :/ *También debe llenar…: I went back and forth between interpreting these lines as “It (ICE) must…” or “She (María) must…”. I didn’t give a lot of consideration to “You should…” because we already have the informal “dejarte”, so I didn’t think a shift into usted was likely.] -- source link

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