Anatomía del marañon
del poemario Vórtices de Jorge Debravo
Rodea con tus dedos sus contornos. Es un fruto blando
y suave como un corazón. Tiene la pulpa esponjosa y
dentro un sabor a vivo trópico y a lluvia.
Rodéalo. Tiene, como un apéndice, la semilla en su exte-
rior. Jamás ha sido hipócrita.
¡Qué diferencia con esos frutos amantes del engaño! Se
nos muestran redondos y grandes por fuera. Pero Aden-
tro tienen semillas grandes como balones.
Hay mujeres que se cubren el rostro de grasas heladas.
Al palpar su piel sentimos una sensación extraña, como
si anduviésemos de noche por una callejuela sucia y de-
samparada. Una de esas callejuelas donde el sol nunca
penetra como si le atemorizara la vergüenza.
¿Conoces tú a una mujer, a un hombre, a un niño, pare-
cidos a un marañon?
………
Anatomy of a Cashew
taken from Jorge Debravo’s book of poetry entitled Vórtices selected by Andres Alfaro
Wrap your fingers around its curves. Its fruit is soft
and fragile like a heart. It has a spongy pulp and
contains the flavor of the tropics and rain inside.
Enclose it. It has, like an appendage, its seed on the
outside. It has never been a hypocrite.
How different from those fruits that love to deceive!
They appear big and round from the outside. But inside
the seeds are huge like soccer balls.
There are women who cover their faces with congealed
fats. Touching their skin gives us a strange sensation,
as if we were walking at night down a filthy, remote alley.
One of those alleys where the sun never shines as if petrified
with shame.
Do you know any man, woman or child who is like
a cashew?
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I’ve chosen to translate this poem for a couple reasons. First, Jorge Debravo is revered (as much as poets can be) in Costa Rica and his birthday (January 31) is celebrated as the National Day of Poetry. Having never translated any of his works, I wanted to engage in his poetry in a way I had never done before. Second, I always find Debravo’s poetry charming as well as humbling. The themes he chooses are often decidedly “rural.” Nevertheless, the way in which Debravo ties seemingly unimportant objects or concepts into larger notions of social equality and justice has always impressed me greatly.
Andres Alfaro