El vampiro / ICE
El vampiro torce la ley.
Como arroz, es blanqueado
de compasión. No llega
cuando prometas,
y entra sin permiso.¿Cuál depredador
se anuncia? El sanguinario
caballero lanza la voz;
dice que es policía,
vecino, amigo. Roba
tus padres y les transforma
en criminales sobre el papel.No es posible razonar
con el vampiro. La única solución
para él es clavar la estaca
en el corazon.The vampire loves the law.
Watch him count rice on the doorstep,
grain promises. He does not arrive
unless invited, or at least,
he does not come in.Like a predator, the sanguine
gentleman announces himself.
He has no need to throw his voice.
The doctrine of his castle
is orderly as stone;
he takes nothing
he is not authorized to take.The vampire is reasonable.
If you don’t want him
to steal your blood, simply
don’t answer the door.P.S. Raices Texas, New Sanctuary Coalition. Call your congresspersons and tell them it’s time to abolish ICE.
my attempted translation (sorry if anything is incorrect, my Spanish is a little rusty). (also asterisks elaborating on my translation are explained under the cut) Thank you to @ecc-poetry for letting me try my hand at translating and writing the beautiful poem in the first place!!
The vampire twists the law.
Like rice, he is bleached
of compassion. He arrives
without warning,*
and enters without permission.What kind of predator
announces themselves? The bloodthirsty
gentleman masks his voice;**
he says it’s the police,
a neighbor, a friend. He takes
your parents away and turns them
into criminals with just a piece of paper.It’s not possible to reason
with a vampire. The only way to deal
with him is to drive a stake
through his heart.Thank you @aphorisnt for an accurate translation because whoever did the translated post in the original was making propaganda and not being accurate. Unless that was commentary about how privilege let’s you have a perception that is different from an opressed groups’ reality, it was complete bull shit.
You should check out @ecc-poetry’s other posts in that same tag (miss translated) because what you think of as “propaganda” is something very different indeed; closer to your “unless” supposition.
As ever, I’m incredibly grateful when people take the time to engage with my work. I can’t think of many working poets who get the opportunity to see so much reader feedback, so it’s a very special thing to me. That said, yes! That “unless” is correct. I, a Chicana woman, wrote both poems, and the incorrect translation is (mostly) intentional. Although I did just catch a silly grammar mistake I have to fix.
My mother is deeply involved in the new sanctuary movement, and I’ve been working on a group of poems in my Miss Translated series inspired by immigrants’ testimony concerning ICE (and ISAP) and their treatment by them. This topic has gained a sharp personal relevance for me because at least one of the child internment centers that’s been featured on the news is in my family’s hometown in south Texas. Clearly, however, people don’t need a familial connection to feel deeply impacted by this topic, and I’m grateful for that. Don’t forget to call your reps and donate, friends!
Published
tora42's nonsensne 