Como lava candente Like Red-Hot Lava

Como lava candente

El sol viajó desde el Oriente
en sus alas de viento
las semillas brotan
y se hacen palabras
para alumbrar en este día
amado mio
 
bañar tu alma quiero
con el roció de mis aguas
un abecedario de vocales
donde se entra y no se olvida
 
viento quiero ser
para calmar las olas enfurecidas del mar
manos para acariciar al volcán
y apagar el fuego de tus palabras
 curare para calmar tus iras de Iwia
lágrimas para entrar en tus ojos de niño 
destapándome y erupcionando como lava candente
y rodar como piedra hecha fuego
a tus brazos de sal
 
Ser el tiempo para permanecer y juntos
recorrer un nuevo camino
ser el ojo de agua
para saciar la sed de  tu alma
y beber los secretos de Arutam
 

Like Red-Hot Lava

The sun travelled from the East [1]
on its wings of wind
the seeds sprout
becoming words
to light up this day
my beloved
 
I want to bathe your soul
in the dew of my waters
an alphabet of vowels
where one enters and is never forgotten
 
I want to be the wind
to appease the raging waves of the sea
hands that caress the volcano
and douse the fire of your words
Poison to calm the wrath of Iwia [2]
the tears that fill your childlike eyes
revealing myself and erupting like red-hot lava
to roll like a stone turned to fire
into your salty arms
 
I want to be time stood still
to take a new path together
to be the hot spring
that quenches the thirst of your soul
that drinks in the secrets of Arutam [3]
 

Nataly Kelly writes:
[1] In Ecuador, the word Oriente has a double meaning. It is not just the East, but indeed refers to a region of Ecuador, which starts with the slopes of the Andes and extends into the Amazon rainforest through to the border with Peru.

[2] Iwia symbolizes the jungle as a serious threat to human beings, and is sometimes referred to as an evil spirit or a demon. In María Clara’s words, ‘Iwia is a cannibal spirit that devours humans.’

[3] Arutam is in many senses like the Christian concept of the Holy Spirit, an all-powerful being. María Clara explains, ‘Arutam is the one that gives you the strength to live, the power, the force, and the life. It is the beginning of the beginning of everything. Arutam lives beyond the waterfalls in order to dream and see the future, the present, and to repair the past.

Sarah Maguire writes: This beautifully erotic poem was a delight to translate. Nataly’s literal translation needed little amendation and, if you compare the two versions, you’ll see that we changed only a few details, such as ‘time stood still’ for ‘the time to remain’.

Like Red-Hot Lava

The sun travelled from the East [1]
on its wings of wind
the seeds sprout
and turn into words
to brighten this day
my beloved
 
I want to bathe your soul
in the dew of my waters
an alphabet of vowels
where one enters and is not forgotten
 
I want to be the wind
to calm the raging waves of the sea
hands to caress the volcano
and extinguish the fire of your words
I will heal and calm evil Iwia's wrath [2]
tears to enter your childlike eyes
uncovering myself and erupting like red-hot lava
and rolling like stone turned to fire
into your salty arms
 
To be the time to remain, and together
to head down a new path
to be the hot spring
to quench the thirst of your soul
and to drink the secrets of holy Arutam. [3]
 

Original Poem by

Maria Clara Sharupi Jua

Translated by

Nataly Kelly with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

Shuar

Country

Ecuador