Poem
Luis Vidales
THE SHADOWS
When the moon risesshadows begin to jump up and down.
Plaf! Plaf! You hear their sound as they fall.
And the ground began to fill with bizarre beings.
All night I watched them jumping up and down.
One of them fell near me
it went with me
hiding behind me
or jumping in front
and aping my movements
– from which I have deduced
that the shadow is
everyone’s
monkey.
Afterwards
– I don’t know how
the shadow tangled up around my feet
and made a real racket right in the middle
of the street with its terrible shrieking.
Since then I get panic-stricken
and I advise everybody
to take precautions
not to get tangled in their shadows
as they walk.
© Translation: 2004, Nicolás Suescún
Las sombras
Las sombras
Cuando sale la lunaempiezan a brincar sombras.
¡Chas! ¡Chas! se siente que hacen al caer.
Y el sueño se puebla de seres estrambóticos.
Toda la noche estuve viéndolas saltar.
Una que cayó cerca
se fue conmigo
escondiéndose detrás de mí
o saltando adelante
e imitando mis gestos –
por lo cual he colegido
que la sombra
es el mono
de cada uno.
Después
– yo no sé cómo
la sombra se me embrolló en los pies
y armó un verdadero escándalo en plena calle
con su chillería de mil demonios.
Desde entonces sufro un miedo pánico
y a todo el mundo le aconsejo
que tenga precauciones
para que no se le enrede la sombra
al andar.
© 1976, Luis Vidales
From: Suenan timbres
Publisher: Biblioteca Colombiana de Cultura, Bogotá
From: Suenan timbres
Publisher: Biblioteca Colombiana de Cultura, Bogotá
Poems
Poems of Luis Vidales
Close
THE SHADOWS
When the moon risesshadows begin to jump up and down.
Plaf! Plaf! You hear their sound as they fall.
And the ground began to fill with bizarre beings.
All night I watched them jumping up and down.
One of them fell near me
it went with me
hiding behind me
or jumping in front
and aping my movements
– from which I have deduced
that the shadow is
everyone’s
monkey.
Afterwards
– I don’t know how
the shadow tangled up around my feet
and made a real racket right in the middle
of the street with its terrible shrieking.
Since then I get panic-stricken
and I advise everybody
to take precautions
not to get tangled in their shadows
as they walk.
© 2004, Nicolás Suescún
From: Suenan timbres
From: Suenan timbres
THE SHADOWS
When the moon risesshadows begin to jump up and down.
Plaf! Plaf! You hear their sound as they fall.
And the ground began to fill with bizarre beings.
All night I watched them jumping up and down.
One of them fell near me
it went with me
hiding behind me
or jumping in front
and aping my movements
– from which I have deduced
that the shadow is
everyone’s
monkey.
Afterwards
– I don’t know how
the shadow tangled up around my feet
and made a real racket right in the middle
of the street with its terrible shrieking.
Since then I get panic-stricken
and I advise everybody
to take precautions
not to get tangled in their shadows
as they walk.
© 2004, Nicolás Suescún
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