From DEL DIARIO DE LA SEÑORA MAO

MARÍA TERESA OGLIASTRI • translated by 
YVETTE NEISSER MORENO & PATRICIA BEJARANO FISHER

SINCE THEN I HAVE NO MERCY

I felt the pinch

my toe 
defenseless

petrified
the crab swiveled its eyes

my grandfather nailed it on a stick
so I could overcome fear

I said    kill it
wrath is a pleasure

under the bandages hate rises with the sun

my grandfather released the crab which returned to the sand
as if knowing that with my toe
I would seal the openings to its caves

since then I have no mercy

•

DESDE ENTONCES NO CONOZCO LA PIEDAD

Sentí el piquetazo 

el dedo 
inerme

petrificado 
el cangrejo giraba los ojos 

mi abuelo lo ensartó en un palo
para que perdiera el miedo

le dije    mátalo
la ira es un placer 

bajo las vendas el odio nace con el sol

mi abuelo liberó al cangrejo que volvió a la arena
como si supiera que con mi dedo  
taparía los orificios de las cuevas

desde entonces no conozco la piedad

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

When the client enters the house
he wants the feet of the sleeping maiden

as the slippers are lifted
two butterflies escape through the window

the price is high
a phoenix with new feathers

outside old men smoke opium
anxious to see her sleeping

a mountain spring
is the girl’s dream

as they watch her sleep
their teeth sprout
their hair turns black

the innocent girl doesn’t know
that beauty
spawns the unity of things

ecstasy

when she wakes up
she removes the necklace of bitter orange 
to bathe
in the river that bursts into nine fountains

afternoon tea permeates the garden

The title comes from a Japanese novel, translated into English as The Sleeping Beauty and into Spanish as La casa de las bellas durmientes.

•

LA CASA DE LAS BELLAS DURMIENTES

Cuando el cliente entra a la casa
pide los pies de la doncella dormida 

al retiro de las chinelas 
dos mariposas escapan por la ventana 

el precio es alto 
un ave fénix con plumas nuevas

afuera varios ancianos fuman opio 
anhelan verla dormida 

un manantial 
es el sueño de la muchacha

al verla dormir
los dientes brotan 
el cabello ennegrece

la inocente ignora
que la belleza
genera la unidad de las cosas

éxtasis

cuando despierta 
retira el collar de naranja amarga
para bañarse 
en el río que estalla en nueve fuentes

el té de la tarde invade el jardín

Translators' Note:

These poems come from Del diario de la señora Mao (From the Diary of Madame Mao), a collection of fictionalized diary entries written in the voice of Jiang Qing, wife of Mao Zedong, a controversial figure in China’s Cultural Revolution. Translating the poems in this book involved a two-layer process of interpreting the actual Spanish words, and then considering the underlying meaning of the images/narrative within the context of Madame Mao’s life, Chinese culture and history, and the interplay of poems within the book.

“Since Then I Have No Mercy” is the first poem in the book, introducing Madame Mao’s voice and character, which is both vulnerable and hauntingly ruthless. In this case, the Spanish expression “no conozco la piedad” reminded Patricia of language used in church in her native Colombia, which led us to the phrase “I have no mercy”; subsequently, we chose the word “wrath” in the fifth stanza (which could have been translated as anger, rage, ire) to continue with the ironic use of God language to foreshadow Madame Mao’s evil actions later in life.

In “The Sleeping Beauty,” we had trouble at first understanding the incident described –was this a house of prostitutes? In this case, we queried the author, who revealed that the poem was inspired by a Japanese novel by the same title, in which the older clients are not purchasing sexual favors, but rather just experiencing eroticism at the sight of the young woman’s bare feet. This helped us to see the poem’s connection with a recurring theme in the book – older men’s sexual desire for young women. In the last line, literally, “afternoon tea invades the garden.” We chose “permeates” to evoke the smell of tea overwhelming the girl’s space.

María Teresa Ogliastri was born in Los Teques, Venezuela, and lives in Caracas. She is the author of five collections of poems and has been featured at poetry festivals throughout Latin America. Her poems appear in several anthologies of contemporary Venezuelan poetry.

Yvette Neisser Moreno is the author of Grip (2011 Gival Press Poetry Award), co-translator of Ogliastri’s South Pole/Polo Sur, and editor of Difficult Beauty: Selected Poems by Luis Alberto Ambroggio. She is co-director of the DC-Area Literary Translators Network (DC-ALT), an organizer with Split This Rock Poetry Festival, and an instructor at The Writer’s Center.

Patricia Bejarano Fisher, originally from Colombia, is a multidisciplinary language professional who has worked as a translator, teacher, and learning materials developer in both government and academia. She began her poetry translation career in 2007. In addition to Ogliastri’s South Pole/Polo Sur, her work has appeared in several poetry journals.