David Castillo

katalonščina

Anna Crowe

angleščina

ROBAR?

Al carrer et diran
que no pots anar a dreta o esquerra,
canvi de sentit,
direcció prohibida,
prohibit el pas,
propietat privada.

Tant se val que tinguis molt o que no tinguis res:
no pots passar,
tot és d'algú:
la casa,
el gos,
la moto de cinc-cents centímetres
que cubica de campionat,
el mirall,
el bar on fan les tapes tan bones
i la cuinera,
que també és d'algú:
del seu marit,
del seu pare,
dels seus fills,
de tot déu menys de tu
que ets l'únic que la desitja.

Canvia d'actitud:
passeja't com un xulo per una zona arrasada:
no vols res,
res que et pesi,
res que t'estreny:
la casa, amb un passadís massa llarg;
el gos, que té la solitària;
la moto, que li va trencar el colze al seu amo;
el bar, que només fa diners diumenge al matí
quan tu encara dorms
immers en el penúltim somni
en què la cuinera et somriu
sorgint entre els llençols
com un somni sense la propietat privada,
que a tu, de moment, no et comprimeix.

© David Castillo
Iz: Downtown
Barcelona: Icaria, 2005
Avdio produkcija: Institut Ramon Llull

Stealing?

In the street they’ll tell you
you can’t go right or left,
change of direction,
access forbidden,
no entry,
private property.

Whether you’ve plenty of cash or none
makes no difference:
It’s no go,
it all belongs to some one:
the house,
the dog,
the motorbike five metres long
with cylinder capacity for racing,
the mirror,
the bar where they make such good tapas,
and the cook,
who also belongs to someone:
to her husband,
to her father,
to her children,
to everyone but you
who are the only one who fancies her.

Change your attitude:
stroll like a tough guy through a demolition-site:
you don’t want anything,
anything that would weigh you down,
anything that would cramp you:
the house, with its too-wide corridor;
the dog, that has a tapeworm;
the motorbike, which broke the owner’s elbow:
the bar, that earns money only on Sunday mornings
when you’re still asleep
wrapped in the last dream but one
in which the cook smiles at you
emerging from the sheets
like a dream with no private property,
which for the moment doesn’t hold you back.

Translated into English by Anna Crowe