GORILLA
Translated By Aaron Coleman
The gorilla is an animal
all but entirely human.
It doesn’t have paws but quasi feet;
it doesn’t have claws but quasi hands.
I am talking to you
about the gorilla of the African forest.
The animal you see here
is all but
entirely gorilla.
Paws instead of feet
and quasi claws instead of hands.
I am showing you
the American gorilla.
It was acquired
by our emissary abroad at an outpost
for the Great Zoo.
Translated from the Spanish
Notes:
This poem is part of the portfolio “Nicolás Guillén: Maker and Breaker of Forms.” You can read the rest of the portfolio in the September 2024 issue. The poems in this folio come from The Great Zoo by Nicolás Guillén, translated by Aaron Coleman (University of Chicago Press, 2024). El Gran Zoo © 2023 by Nicolás Guillén, first published in 1967. Translation © 2024 by Aaron Coleman. Reprinted by permission of the University of Chicago Press and the Estate of Nicolás Guillén. All rights reserved.
Source: Poetry (September 2024)