The Potato Patch [A Poem: In Spanish And English]
The Potato Patch
One dayoh, I suppose I was, say ten,
I asked my mother to ask my grandfather
For a garden plot, somewhere in our
Backyard:
And somehow, she got him to agree;
Twisted his knees, perhapsI don’t
Knowbut the Old Russian Bear
Was hard to please…!
It wasn’t a garden to plow or hoe,
Just a patch, a little plot in the backyard
By the fence: that’s all.
And there I planted my first garden
Potatoes….
It was kind of neat (so I thought), hidden
From anyone passing by; until I found out
Potatoes grow underground
(not on top), and yes, it was
A mess, thereafter: digging, weeding,
Watering.
It seemed the season would never end,
But I did stick with it; and then came the
Day, the great day, to pluck those
Potatoes from their abode, and to show
Them to my mother and grandpa:
I was quite proud.
And when I did, when I pulled those
(roots and all) potatoesfrom
Under the earth, I was devastated to
To find out: the eyes were bigger
Than the potatoes.
Traumatic I took it at first, I think
I even cursed
Advice? I have none, but I’ll tell you,
I never tried to grow potatoes again.
Note: #1183 1/31/2005; the year this story took place was perhaps l958.
IN SPANISH
Translated by Nancy Penaloza
El campo de papa
Un da-Ah, yo supongo que era, digo diez,
Yo ped que mi madre pidiera a mi abuelo
Un terreno para jardn- en algn lugar en nuestro
Patio posterior:
Y de alguna modo, ella consigui que él aceptara;-
Doblando sus rodillas, talvez- yo no
Se-pero el viejo oso ruso
Era duro de complacer…!
No era un jardn para arar o azadonar,
Solo un parche, un solar pequeo en el patio trasero
Por la cerca: eso es todo.
Y all yo plante mi primer jardn-
De patatas…
Yo era en cierto modo ordenado (entonces pensé), escondido
De cualquiera que pasara cerca; hasta que descubr
Patatas crecer debajo de la tierra-
(No en la punta), y si, esto era
Un desorden, de all en adelante: excavando, desyerbando,
Regando.
Esto pareca la estacin que jams terminara,
Pero yo aguante con esto; y luego vino el
Da, el gran da, para arrancar esas
Patatas desde su raz, y para mostrarlos
A mi madre y mi abuelo:
Yo estaba casi orgulloso.
Y cuando lo hice, cuando yo jale esas
(Races y todo) patatas- desde
Debajo de la tierra, yo estaba muy triste por
Descubrir: los ojos eran ms grandes
Que las patatas.
Traumtico lo tome al comienzo, yo pienso
Aun lo maldigo
Consejo? No tengo ninguno, pero yo te diré,
Yo jams trate de cultivar patatas nuevamente.
Nota #1183 1/31/2005; el ao que la historia tomo lugar fue
Talvez en 1958
See Dennis’ web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com
