Never Surrender

[Xipe Totec]

This is a poem I once got from my mother. Yes, my mother. Bravest woman I ever met.

After her second bout with breast cancer.

PS: She is still alive.

(I don't think I should have to explain why I'm posting this today...)


Do not surrender even when defeated,
and do not be a slave even in bondage,
trembling with fear advance bravely,
and attack with fury, though badly wounded.

Be as stubborn as a rusting nail,
that refuses to yield though old and ruined,
and do not envy the peacock's plumage,
that hides in fear at the first noise.

Be as a god that never cries,
or as a devil that never prays,
or as the oak whose mighty canopy,
needs of water but does not beg it.

Even when it rolls to the dust,
let your head scowl and bite,
and scream for vengeance.

- Pedro Palacios Almafuerte
Argentinian poet 1854-1917

[grantcart]

1. Great poem, great mom, great post

[Xipe Totec]

3. She is the "Great Light" that illuminates my path nt

[yellerpup]

2. Gorgeous poem.

Your mom knows a good thing when she sees it and is wise to pass it on.

[IndianaJoe]

4. Better in Spanish

Piu Avanti!

No te des por vencido, ni aun vencido,
no te sientas esclavo, ni aun esclavo;
trémulo de pavor, piénsate bravo,
y arremete feroz, ya mal herido.

Ten el tesón del clavo enmohecido
que ya viejo y ruin, vuelve a ser clavo;
no la cobarde estupidez del pavo
que amaina su plumaje al primer ruido.

Procede como Dios que nunca llora;
o como Lucifer, que nunca reza;
o como el robledal, cuya grandeza
necesita del agua y no la implora...

Que muerda y vocifere vengadora,
ya rodando en el polvo, tu cabeza!

[Xipe Totec]

5. Yes, of course

Actually, that is the original text my mother gave me.

She is, after all, Mexican.

I translated the poem, to share with my English speaking friends at DU.

Not surprisingly, some of the emotional punch is lost in translation.

[IndianaJoe]

6. I thought your translation was very good.

I couldn't find another English translation on the net. But you're right. It has much more punch in Spanish. It's a very, very good poem. Very gritty. Very Progressive!

[Xipe Totec]

7. It is sad to me, sometimes, how many great Hispanic poems are unavailable to English speakers

Amado Nervo,
Ruben Dario,
Jose Marti,
Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera,
Miguel Hernandez,

My heart breaks with pity.

I try, whenever I can, to translate them for my friends.

[IndianaJoe]

8. Yes...I totally agree with you.

You see Pablo Neruda translated a lot, but that's about it. I've made a note of the names you listed. I've heard of Dario and Marti, but the others are new to me. I'll try to take a lot at some of their work.

I'm self-taught in Spanish (with a lot of help from Mexican guys on my soccer team), but reading some of the literature has been like opening a new world for me. Vargas-Llosa, Allende, Borges, Octavio Paz...Great stuff!

[Xipe Totec]

9. Hernandez:

Umbrio por la Pena (Blackened by Sorrow)
http://www.youtube.com/user/mapachtli42#p/f/33/GO8X8cYumUo

Cancion Ultima (The Last Song)

http://www.youtube.com/user/mapachtli42#p/f/46/9Pm-cQ9xQnE

[IndianaJoe]

10. Really beautiful! Thank you! n/t