Spoon River Anthology — Page 15

English → Spanish Full Text Level 4/10

You saw me only as a run-down man

Me veías solo como un hombre deteriorado

With matted hair and beard

Con el cabello y la barba enmarañados

And ragged clothes.

Y ropa harapienta.

Sometimes a man's life turns into a cancer

A veces la vida de un hombre se convierte en un cáncer

From being bruised and continually bruised,

De ser golpeado y continuamente golpeado,

And swells into a purplish mass

Y se hincha hasta formar una masa purpúrea

Like growths on stalks of corn.

Como tumores en los tallos del maíz.

Here was I, a carpenter, mired in a bog of life

Aquí estaba yo, un carpintero, hundido en un pantano de vida

Into which I walked, thinking it was a meadow,

En el que me adentré, creyendo que era un prado,

With a slattern for a wife, and poor Minerva, my daughter,

Con una mujer desaliñada por esposa, y la pobre Minerva, mi hija,

Whom you tormented and drove to death.

A quien atormentasteis y empujasteis a la muerte.

So I crept, crept, like a snail through the days

Así me arrastré, me arrastré, como un caracol a través de los días

Of my life.

De mi vida.

No more you hear my footsteps in the morning,

Ya no escucháis mis pasos por la mañana,

Resounding on the hollow sidewalk

Resonando en la acera hueca

Going to the grocery store for a little corn meal

Yendo a la tienda de comestibles por un poco de harina de maíz

And a nickel's worth of bacon.

Y cinco centavos de tocino.

"Butch" Weldy

After I got religion and steadied down

Después de que encontré la religión y me calmé

They gave me a job in the canning works,

Me dieron un trabajo en la fábrica de conservas,

And every morning I had to fill

Y cada mañana tenía que llenar

The tank in the yard with gasoline,

El depósito del patio con gasolina,

That fed the blow-fires in the sheds

Que alimentaba los sopletes en los cobertizos

To heat the soldering irons.

Para calentar los hierros de soldar.

And I mounted a rickety ladder to do it,

Y subía una escalera desvencijada para hacerlo,

Carrying buckets full of the stuff.

Cargando cubos llenos de ese líquido.

One morning, as I stood there pouring,

Una mañana, mientras estaba allí vertiendo,

The air grew still and seemed to heave,

El aire se quedó quieto y pareció agitarse,

And I shot up as the tank exploded,

Y salí disparado cuando el depósito explotó,

And down I came with both legs broken,

Y caí con las dos piernas rotas,

And my eyes burned crisp as a couple of eggs.

Y mis ojos se chamuscaron como un par de huevos fritos.

For someone left a blow—fire going,

Pues alguien dejó un soplete encendido,

And something sucked the flame in the tank.

Y algo aspiró la llama hacia el depósito.

Vocabulary

veías: You (informal) used to see, past imperfect tense
solo: Alone, by oneself, without company
como: Like, as; used for comparisons
hombre: Man, adult male human being
deteriorado: Deteriorated, worn down, in poor condition
cabello: Hair, especially the hair on one's head
barba: Beard, facial hair on the chin and jaw
enmarañados: Tangled, knotted, matted in a messy way
ropa: Clothing, garments worn on the body
harapienta: Ragged, tattered, worn-out clothing in shreds
veces: Times, occasions; 'a veces' means 'sometimes'
vida: Life, one's existence or way of living
convierte: Turns into, becomes, transforms into something else
cáncer: Cancer, malignant disease; also used metaphorically
ser: To be; infinitive of the verb 'ser'
golpeado: Struck, beaten, hit repeatedly by force
continuamente: Continuously, without stopping, over and over again
hincha: Swells up, inflates, becomes enlarged with pressure
hasta: Until, up to, as far as a point
formar: To form, to shape, to create a structure
masa: Mass, lump, a dense clump of matter
purpúrea: Purple-colored, having a deep reddish-purple hue
Como: Like, as; used to introduce a comparison
tumores: Tumors, abnormal growths of tissue in body
tallos: Stalks, stems of a plant such as corn
maíz: Corn, maize, a common grain crop plant
Aquí: Here, in this place or location
estaba: Was, past imperfect of 'estar' (to be)
carpintero: Carpenter, a craftsman who works with wood
hundido: Sunken, submerged, deeply bogged down in something
pantano: Swamp, marsh, a wet boggy area of land
adentré: I ventured into, entered deep into a place
creyendo: Believing, thinking, holding something to be true
era: Was, past imperfect of 'ser' (to be)
prado: Meadow, a grassy open field or pasture
mujer: Woman, wife, adult female human being
desaliñada: Disheveled, untidy, unkempt in appearance
esposa: Wife, a woman in a marriage relationship
pobre: Poor, lacking money or resources; pitiful
hija: Daughter, a female child of a parent
quien: Who, whom; relative pronoun referring to a person
atormentasteis: You (plural) tormented, caused great suffering to someone
empujasteis: You (plural) pushed, shoved someone toward something
muerte: Death, the end of life
Así: Thus, in this way, like this
arrastré: I dragged, pulled slowly along the ground
caracol: Snail, a slow-moving mollusk with a shell
través: Through, across; used in 'a través de'
días: Days, plural of 'día'
Ya: Already, now, no longer; adverb of time
escucháis: You (plural) hear or listen to something
pasos: Steps, footsteps, the sound of walking
mañana: Morning; also means 'tomorrow'
Resonando: Resonating, echoing, producing a loud reverberating sound
acera: Sidewalk, pavement along the side of a street
hueca: Hollow, empty inside, not solid
Yendo: Going, moving toward a destination
tienda: Store, shop where goods are sold
comestibles: Groceries, edible food products sold in stores
poco: Little, a small amount of something
harina: Flour, finely ground grain used for baking
cinco: Five, the number 5
centavos: Cents, small currency units worth hundredths of a peso
tocino: Bacon, cured pork belly or side meat
Después: After, afterwards, later in time
encontré: I found, I came across something or someone
religión: Religion, a system of spiritual belief and practice
calmé: I calmed down, became peaceful and composed
dieron: They gave, past tense of 'dar' (to give)
trabajo: Work, job, employment or labor
fábrica: Factory, a building where goods are manufactured
conservas: Canned goods, preserved food in sealed containers
cada: Each, every; refers to individual items in a group
tenía: I/he/she had, past imperfect of 'tener'
llenar: To fill, to make something completely full
depósito: Tank, reservoir, container for storing liquids
patio: Yard, courtyard, an outdoor area of a building
gasolina: Gasoline, fuel used in engines and machinery
alimentaba: Fed, supplied fuel or nourishment to something
sopletes: Blowtorches, tools that produce a flame for heating
cobertizos: Sheds, small roofed structures used for storage
calentar: To heat, to raise the temperature of something
hierros: Irons, iron rods or metal pieces
soldar: To weld, to join metals using heat
subía: I/he climbed, went up; past imperfect of 'subir'
escalera: Ladder, staircase used to climb to higher places
desvencijada: Rickety, falling apart, unstable and poorly held together
hacerlo: To do it, infinitive plus pronoun 'lo'
Cargando: Carrying, bearing a load while moving
cubos: Buckets, containers used to carry liquids
llenos: Full, filled to capacity with something
ese: That, demonstrative adjective referring to something nearby
líquido: Liquid, a fluid substance that flows freely
mientras: While, meanwhile; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions
allí: There, in that place over there
vertiendo: Pouring, spilling liquid from one place to another
aire: Air, the invisible gas mixture surrounding the earth
quedó: Stayed, remained, became; past tense of 'quedarse'
quieto: Still, motionless, not moving at all
pareció: Seemed, appeared to be; past tense of 'parecer'
agitarse: To stir, to shake, to become agitated or turbulent
salí: I left, went out; past tense of 'salir'
disparado: Shot out, launched suddenly like a fired projectile
cuando: When, at the time that something happened
explotó: Exploded, blew up with a sudden violent burst
caí: I fell, dropped down; past tense of 'caer'
dos: Two, the number 2
piernas: Legs, the lower limbs used for walking
rotas: Broken, fractured, no longer intact or whole
ojos: Eyes, the organs used for seeing
chamuscaron: Were singed, scorched, burned on the surface
par: Pair, a set of two matching things
huevos: Eggs; also slang for testicles in some contexts
fritos: Fried, cooked in hot oil or fat
Pues: Well, then; a filler or explanatory conjunction
alguien: Someone, somebody, an unspecified person
dejó: Left, allowed; past tense of 'dejar'
soplete: Blowtorch, a tool that produces a directed flame
encendido: Lit, turned on, burning or ignited
algo: Something, some unspecified thing or matter
aspiró: Sucked in, drew in air or fluid by suction
llama: Flame, the visible burning part of a fire
hacia: Toward, in the direction of something

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