Ms Trolley Recuerda Países Ms Trolley Recalls Countries

Ms Trolley Recuerda Países

Entonces, para no hacer largo el cuento
me dijeron su caso está aprobado
aunque es caso pendiente, delicado.
Y salí más tranquila, pero lento.
 
Desde cama/sofá, con desaliento,
recordé las ciudades donde he estado,
Mozambique, París, Tokio, Belgrado.
Solo en mapa y en sueños, no te miento
 
Mi caso era un mal caso porque yo
tuviera la mirada que tuviera
tal vez decía sí cuando era no.
 
Y miraba a los ojos a cualquiera
​porque fue lo que daddy me enseñó
seas alien o seas extranjera. 
 

Ms Trolley Recalls Countries

So, to cut a long story short
they told me your case is approved
although it’s a pending case, delicate.
And I left more calm, but slow.
 
From the bed/sofa, with dejection,
I recalled the cities where I’ve been,
Mozambique, Paris, Tokyo, Belgrade.
Only in maps and dreams, I won’t lie to you.
 
My case was a bad case because I
had that look I had,
maybe it said yes when it was no.
 
And I’d look in the eyes of whoever
because that is what daddy taught me,
​alien or foreigner.
 

Ms Trolley Remembers Countries

So, to no make long the story
they told me your case is approved
although it’s a pending case, delicate.
And I left more calm, but slow.
 
From bed/sofa, with despondency,
I remembered the cities where I’ve been,
Mozambique, Paris, Tokyo, Belgrade.
Only in map and in dreams, no to you I lie.
 
My case was a bad case because
I had the look I had
maybe it said yes when was no.
 
And I looked in the eyes of whoever
​because is what daddy me taught
be you alien or foreigner.
 

We were very glad that our literal translator, Serafina Vick, had brought in two more sonnets by the fabulous Legna Rodriguez Iglesias. We began with this one which deals with the experience of being a migrant in Miami: riding the cheap ‘trolley’, sleeping on a sofa-bed and waiting to see if you have been ‘approved’. We liked the conversational tone, and started by using the idiom ‘to cut a long story short’, which we felt had Legna’s meaning and also sounded chatty.

Most debate focused on the idea of ‘the look’ which became ‘that look’. Was this a poem about looking wrong (too foreign, too female)? Or looking too defiant? Is ‘looking in the eyes of whoever’ a gesture of equality and kindness, or a refusal to back down before authority? The last line seemed ambiguous too. Is it about how Ms Trolley looks at ‘aliens’? Or is she the ‘alien’? In the end we chose to keep (and heighten) that final ambiguity…

Clare Pollard

Original Poem by

Legna Rodríguez Iglesias

Translated by

Serafina Vick with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

Spanish

Country

Cuba