A SONG TO COLOMBIA

Oh, Colombia.
My mother, my father, my homeland.
From your prolific womb I was born.
In your quiet roads
I learned to crawl, to walk, to run.
In your still rivers I played, I swam, I tasted
The sweetness, the freshness, the cleanliness
Of your streams.

In your majestic mountains

I dwelled, I dreamed, I breathed
The air of liberty.
From your ancestor farm-hands
I learned to plow, to sow, to grow,
To harvest the gifts of your fertile soils.

Oh, Colombia.
From dispute you were born.
With dispute you were kept.
In dispute you are still today.
Mothers, fathers, ancestors
Didn’t go through the rest in their souls.

Till when?
I ask the north, the south,
The east, the west.

Till when?
I ask the roads, the rivers, the mountains,
The air.

Till when?
I lie on your womb,
Sharpen my ears,
Eager for the answer to come.

What do I hear?
¡Stop! ¡Stop! ¡Stop!
Grave laments of horror entreating
¡Stop! ¡Stop! ¡Stop!
With the hands on my ears, I
¡Run! ¡Run! ¡Run!
To the sweetest of your waters
To plunge and
Get rid of
The bitter of my mood.
Poema ganador del primer concurso de poesía, cuento, grafiti y dibujo del Instituto Tecnológico
Metropolitano de Medellín, abril de 2011. Publicado en Taller de escritores I, Luz Bibiana Díaz Martínez,
Carlos Alberto Álvarez Muñetón. Fondo Editorial ITM. Medellín, 2012.
 What do I see?
¡Red! ¡Red! ¡Red!
Torrents of red
Flowing to the sea,
Guarded by circular group
Of harsh pray birds,
Flying around,
Eager to feed on.

With the hands on my head,

I
¡Run! ¡Run! ¡Run!
By your roads
To the south, to the north,
To the west, to the east.
End up in the vehement center
Of a restless city,
With no roads, no rivers, no mountains,
No air of liberty.

Till when?

Diego A. Giraldo Copacabana, Antioquia,

Junio de 2008
e-mail: dialejo2@yahoo.com

Poema ganador del primer concurso de poesía, cuento, grafiti y dibujo del Instituto Tecnológico
Metropolitano de Medellín, abril de 2011. Publicado en Taller de escritores I, Luz Bibiana Díaz Martínez,
Carlos Alberto Álvarez Muñetón. Fondo Editorial ITM. Medellín, 2012.