Conoce a... Ruth Muskrat Bronson

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“Sentenced,” by Ruth Muskrat Bronson
 
(A Dirge)

They have come, they have come,
Out of the unknown they have come;
Out of the great sea they have come;
Dazzling and conquering the white man has come
To make this land his home.

We must die, we must die,
The white man has sentenced we must die,
Without great forests we must die,
Broken and conquered the red man must die,
He cannot claim his own.

They have gone, they have gone.
Our sky-blue waters, they have gone.
Our wild free prairies, they have gone.
To be the white man’s own.

They have won, they have won.
Thru fraud and thru warfare they have won,
Our council and burial grounds they have won,
Our birthright for pottage that white man has won,
And the red man must perish alone.

Poem written probably in the 1920s, in the public domain. Published in When the Light of the World was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through (WW Norton, 2020), edited by Joy Harjo (see A1:12 in Sisters. Workshops with Poems)

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“Condena”, de Ruth Muskrat Bronson

(Un canto fúnebre)

Han llegado, han llegado,
surgiendo de lo desconocido han llegado,
del inmenso océano han llegado,
deslumbrante y conquistando el hombre blanco ha llegado
para hacer de esta tierra su hogar.

Nos toca morir, tenemos que morir,
el hombre blanco nos condena a morir,
sin los grandes bosques moriremos,
roto y conquistado el pueblo rojo ha de morir
sin fuerzas para reclamar lo suyo.

Han desaparecido, han desaparecido
nuestras amadas aguas azul-cielo han desaparecido,
nuestras salvajes praderas libres han desaparecido.
Son propiedad del hombre blanco.

Han vencido, han vencido
con engaños y con guerras se han impuesto,
apropiando nuestros Consejos y cementerios,
nuestro derecho al potaje por haber nacido es del hombre blanco,
y al pueblo rojo sólo le queda morir despojado.

“Sentenced,” poema original, en el dominio público. Traducción de michelle renyé para Ruth Muskrat, mujerpalabra.net y Sisters. Workshops with Poems