Spoon River Anthology — Page 6

English → Spanish Full Text Level 4/10

Robert Fulton Tanner

If a man could bite the giant hand

Si un hombre pudiera morder la mano gigante

That catches and destroys him,

Que lo atrapa y lo destruye,

As I was bitten by a rat

Como yo fui mordido por una rata

While demonstrating my patent trap,

Mientras demostraba mi trampa patentada,

In my hardware store that day.

En mi ferretería aquel día.

But a man can never avenge himself

Pero un hombre nunca puede vengarse

On the monstrous ogre Life.

Del monstruoso ogro Vida.

You enter the room—that's being born;

Entras a la habitación—eso es nacer;

And then you must live—work out your soul,

Y luego debes vivir—forjar tu alma,

Aha! the bait that you crave is in view:

¡Ajá! el cebo que anhelas está a la vista:

A woman with money you want to marry,

Una mujer con dinero con quien quieres casarte,

Prestige, place, or power in the world.

Prestigio, posición o poder en el mundo.

But there's work to do and things to conquer—

Pero hay trabajo que hacer y cosas que conquistar—

Oh, yes! the wires that screen the bait.

¡Oh, sí! los alambres que cubren el cebo.

At last you get in—but you hear a step:

Por fin entras—pero escuchas un paso:

The ogre, Life, comes into the room,

El ogro, Vida, entra a la habitación,

(He was waiting and heard the clang of the spring)

(Estaba esperando y oyó el chasquido del resorte)

To watch you nibble the wondrous cheese,

Para verte mordisquear el maravilloso queso,

And stare with his burning eyes at you,

Y mirarte fijamente con sus ojos ardientes,

And scowl and laugh, and mock and curse you,

Y fruncir el ceño y reír, y burlarse y maldecirte,

Running up and down in the trap,

Corriendo de un lado a otro en la trampa,

Until your misery bores him.

Hasta que tu miseria lo aburre.

Cassius Hueffer

They have chiseled on my stone the words:

Han cincelado en mi lápida las palabras:

"His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him

"Su vida fue apacible, y los elementos tan mezclados en él

That nature might stand up and say to all the world,

Que la naturaleza podría levantarse y decirle al mundo entero,

This was a man."

Este fue un hombre."

Those who knew me smile

Los que me conocieron sonríen

As they read this empty rhetoric.

Al leer esta retórica vacía.

My epitaph should have been:

Mi epitafio debería haber sido:

"Life was not gentle to him,

"La vida no fue apacible con él,

And the elements so mixed in him

Y los elementos tan mezclados en él

That he made warfare on life

Que le declaró la guerra a la vida

In the which he was slain.

En la cual fue vencido.

Vocabulary

Si: If; conditional conjunction in Spanish.
un: A, an; indefinite article masculine singular.
hombre: Man; adult male human being.
pudiera: Could, might; imperfect subjunctive of poder.
morder: To bite; to seize with teeth.
la: The; definite article feminine singular.
mano: Hand; limb with fingers at arm end.
gigante: Giant; extremely large person or creature.
Que: That, which; relative pronoun.
lo: It; direct object pronoun masculine.
atrapa: Catches, traps; third person singular of atrapar.
destruye: Destroys; third person singular of destruir.
Como: Like, as; comparison or manner.
yo: I; first person singular pronoun.
fui: I was; past tense of ser.
mordido: Bitten; past participle of morder.
por: By, for, through; preposition.
una: A, an; indefinite article feminine singular.
rata: Rat; small rodent animal.
Mientras: While, meanwhile; temporal conjunction.
demostraba: Demonstrated, showed; imperfect of demostrar.
mi: My; possessive adjective first person.
trampa: Trap, trick; device to catch.
patentada: Patented; having exclusive rights granted.
En: In, on; preposition indicating location.
ferretería: Hardware store; shop selling tools and supplies.
aquel: That; demonstrative adjective, distant.
día: Day; twenty-four hour period.
Pero: But; conjunction expressing contrast.
nunca: Never; adverb of negation.
puede: Can, is able; third person of poder.
vengarse: To avenge oneself; seek revenge.
Del: Of the, from the; contraction del.
monstruoso: Monstrous, enormous; adjective describing something horrible.
ogro: Ogre; mythical giant monster.
Vida: Life; existence, period of living.
Entras: You enter; second person singular of entrar.
habitación: Room, bedroom; enclosed space in building.
eso: That; neuter demonstrative pronoun.
es: Is; third person singular of ser.
nacer: To be born; to come into existence.
luego: Then, later; adverb of time.
debes: You must, owe; second person of deber.
vivir: To live; to exist and experience life.
forjar: To forge, create; to shape metal or ideas.
tu: Your; possessive adjective second person.
alma: Soul; spiritual essence of person.
el: The; definite article masculine singular.
cebo: Bait, lure; something used to attract.
anhelas: You desire, crave; second person of anhelar.
está: Is; third person singular of estar.
vista: Sight, view; thing seen.
Una: A, an; indefinite article feminine.
mujer: Woman; adult female human being.
con: With; preposition indicating accompaniment.
dinero: Money, currency; medium of exchange.
quien: Who, whom; relative pronoun.
quieres: You want; second person of querer.
casarte: To marry; to wed yourself.
Prestigio: Prestige, honor; respect and admiration.
posición: Position, rank; social or physical location.
poder: Power, ability; capacity to do something.
mundo: World; earth and all humanity.
hay: There is, there are; impersonal verb.
trabajo: Work, job; labor or employment.
hacer: To do, make; fundamental action verb.
cosas: Things, matters; plural of cosa.
conquistar: To conquer, win; to seize by force.
sí: Yes; affirmative response.
los: The; definite article masculine plural.
alambres: Wires; thin metal strands.
cubren: Cover, conceal; third person plural of cubrir.
Por: By, for, through; preposition.

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