Miguel Angel Asturias Academy

Hello friends! April is poetry month (at least in the US) so we wanted to share with you some wonderful Guatemalan poetry! This poem is by Humberto Ak’abal. Ak’abal was born in Momostenango, about 2 hours or so from Xela. He writes his poems in either Mayan K’iche or Spanish or sometimes both! Many of his poems have also been translated into English, French, German, Italian and other languages.

Clarinero
Azulado clarinero
¡qué lustre te ha echado el sol!
Saltando y volando
a ras de rastrojos,
a ras de surcos.
¡Cuánto grano caído
para tu cosecha!
Tapixquero.
Grano caído, granito recogido,
qué matate ni qué morral…
¡Al buche!

Tun ch’ok
Rexroj rij ri jun tun ch’ok
Sib’alaj kachupín ri awij rumal ri q’ij!
Katch’opinik, katrapapik
Cho taq ri chaqij paz’an,
Cho taq ri q’e’t.
Sib’alaj ixim tazqinaq
Che ri a yekob’al, che ri kayak uwäch!
Tun ch’ok ajjach’anel.
We k’o ixim tazqinaq su kasik’o,
Man rajowaxik ta a k’at,
Man rajawaxik ta a chim…
Su kab’e pa ri aqul!

Bluejay
Blue trumpeter
What brilliance the sun has given you!
Leaping and flying
Over stubbled fields.
Over furrows.
So many fallen kernels
For your harvest!
Harvester
Kernel fallen, kernel gathered,
Forget the grindstone and the burlap sack…
Down the hatch!