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The Aconcagua

1902 –

1989

^{translated from the Spanish by Aaron Coleman}

The Aconcagua. Beast,
solemn and frigid. Head
white with eyes of motionless stone.
Travels in slow herds
with other similar animals
through rock-strewn desolations.

In the night,
its soft, heavy lips graze
the cold hands of the moon.

El Aconcagua

El Aconcagua. Bestia
solemne y frígida. Cabeza
blanca y ojos de piedra fija.
Anda en lentos rebaños
con otros animales semejantes
por entre rocallosos desamparos.

En la noche,
roza con belfo blando
las manos frías de la luna.

Nicolas Guillén, “The Aconcagua” / “El Aconcagua” from The Great Zoo, translated by Aaron Coleman. © 2023 by Nicolás Guillén. Translation © 2024 by Aaron Coleman. Reprinted by permission of The University of Chicago Press and the Estate of Nicolás Guillén. All rights reserved.

Nicolás Guillén was born in Camagüey, Cuba, on July 10, 1902. His father, Nicolás Guillén Urra, was a journalist who later became a senator. Guillén Urra was killed by opposing political forces in 1917. As a young adult, Guillén found work as a typesetter to support his family. He graduated from the Institute of Camagüey with a bachelor’s degree in letters and sciences. He then entered the University of Havana’s School of Law, but dropped out in 1921 to write poetry.

About Nicolás Guillén

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The Ursa Major

^{translated from the Spanish by Aaron Coleman}

This is the Ursa Major.
Hunted down June 4^th, ’64,
by a sputnik on the prowl.
(Do not touch the stars
on its skin.)
Now seeking
a tamer.

La Osa Mayor

Nicolás Guillén

2023

The Clouds

^{translated from the Spanish by Aaron Coleman}

The Cloud Sanctuary.
Capacity: 84 clouds.
A new experience, because there are
clouds from sunup to sundown,
and many from different countries.
(Management forecasts more.)

Lanky-tongued like a bird,
reddish,
the daybreak clouds,
made by the farmer’s brief dreams
and hollow dawns.
Restrained,
made of dry and firm cotton,

Nicolás Guillén

2023

KKK

^{translated from the Spanish by Aaron Coleman}

This quadruped comes
from Joplin, Missouri.
Meat-eater.
On and on it howls through the night
without its regular diet of char-grilled black folk.

In the end it will die.
Feeding it is a(n unsolvable) problem.

KKK

Nicolás Guillén

2023

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The Aconcagua

More by this poet

The Ursa Major

The Clouds

KKK

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