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Poem-a-day

[The rage that shatters a man into children,]

translated from the Spanish by Carmen Giménez and Dean Rader 

The rage that shatters a man into children,
that shatters the child into identical birds,
and the bird, eventually, into tiny eggs;
the rage of the poor
bears one oil against two vinegars.

The rage that shatters the tree into leaves,
the leaf, into disparate buds,
and the bud, into telescopic folds;
the rage of the poor
holds two rivers against many seas.

The rage that shatters the good into doubts,
doubt, into three kindred arcs,
and then the arc into unexpected tombs;
the rage of the poor
wields one sword against two daggers.

The rage that shatters the soul into bodies,
the body, into dissimilar organs,
and the organ into eight-note thoughts
the rage of the poor
carries a core fire against two craters.

 

 


 

[La cólera que quiebra al hombre en niños,]

 

La cólera que quiebra al hombre en niños,
que quiebra al niño en pájaros iguales,
y al pájaro, después, en huevecillos;
la cólera del pobre
tiene un aceite contra dos vinagres.

La cólera que al árbol quiebra en hojas,
a la hoja, en botones desiguales,
y al botón, en ranuras telescópicas;
la cólera del pobre
tiene dos ríos contra muchos mares.

La cólera que quiebra al bien en dudas,
a la duda, en tres arcos semejantes,
y al arco, luego, en tumbas imprevistas;
la cólera del pobre
tiene un acero contra dos puñales.

La cólera que quiebra al alma en cuerpos,
al cuerpo, en órganos desemejantes,
y al órgano, en octavos pensamientos;
la cólera del pobre
tiene un fuego central contra dos cráteres.

Copyright © 2026 by César Vallejo, translated by Carmen Giménez and Dean Rader. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 3, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets.

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César Vallejo

César Vallejo
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About Poem-a-Day

Poem-a-Day is the original and only daily digital poetry series featuring over 250 new, previously unpublished poems by today’s talented poets each year. Maya C. Popa is the Guest Editor for September. Read or listen to a Q&A with Maya about her curatorial process, and learn more about the 2026 Guest Editors. Support Poem-a-Day.  

If you have any questions about Poem-a-Day, visit our Poem-a-Day FAQ.

Previous Poems

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Instead of Losing John Ashbery 09/27/2011
The Decorative Airport Fern Is Not What It Pretends to Be Jennifer L. Knox 09/26/2011
After Bombardment, Sonya Ilya Kaminsky 09/23/2011
To be the thing Dorothea Lasky 09/22/2011
Why I Am Afraid of Turning the Page Cate Marvin 09/21/2011
Ghost Story Matthew Dickman 09/20/2011

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