Ramas de sed Branches That Thirst

Original
Translated
Guide

Ramas de sed

Bajo la sombra de una acacia espinosa

dos cuerpos juntos tartamudean

ante su desnudez,

mientras medio desierto

los separa de ma al-ayún.

En la Bahía de Santiago

alguien golpeó un tambor

y gritó mágicas palabras primitivas

en hasanía o amárico

en mandinga o castellano.

Desde la fuente de Canaletas

llegó una misiva en calatán,

con mapa y todo,

anunciando que ese camello perdido

sin letra ni fuego

puede ser un tonel de agua.

Branches That Thirst

Beneath the shadow of a thorn tree

two naked people

are shuddering with thirst

while their oasis

lies half a desert away

In Santiago Bay

someone beats a drum

and chants a rain charm

in Hassaniya or Amharic

in Mandinka or Spanish

From the Canaletas fountain

a message in Catalan springs

with a map and directions

saying this lost camel

not yet branded by fire

can become a trough of water

Branches of Thirst

Beneath the shadow of a spiny acacia

two bodies stutter together

before their nakedness

while half a desert

separates them from the oasis.

In Santiago Bay

someone beat a drum

and shouted magical primitive words

in Hassaniya or Amharic

In Mandinka or Spanish.

From the Canaletas fountain

a missive arrived in Catalan

with a map and everything

announcing that that lost camel

without writing and unbranded

can be a water tunnel.

Original Poem by

Translated by

Tom Boll with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

Country