APR. 2023

[Scanned]

[Photographed before color erosion]

I painted fish because I had read this poem by Victor Terán, and I loved the last line:

Qui zunihuarálu' naa

Qui zunihuarálu' naa.
Qui zaguza diou' xquendanabane'.
Naro'ba' yu'du' biaani' bisananelu' naa,
nanaadxi' ne nayeche'.

Xadxípe' bisindá'naxhilu' bi stinne',
xadxípe' guleezalu' naa lade ca za
ne xidxaa guidiládilu'.

Racaditi ru' ca naya' guietenala'dxica'
beelaxiaa dxitaxa'nalu'.
Ricaala'dxiru' guidiruaa'
runi guiropa' rii dxiñabizu xi'dxu'.

Paraa chiguniná guendarietenala'dxi' naa ya'.
Paraa, neca zelu', gácananaladxe' lii ya'.
Ti nisadó' benda riaquibiaani' bisananelu' naa,
ti nisadó' benda caguite yeche'.

You Will Not Manage to Hurt Me

You will not manage to hurt me.
You will not break my existence.
The cathedral of light that you left me is immense,
warm and joyful.

You scented my existence for a long time.
You introduced me to paradise
with your lukewarm and naked body.
My hands still shake at the memory
of your fleshy ass.
My lips still tremble
when I remember the sweet taste of your nipples.

With these memories, how can I feel hurt?
Though you left me, how can I abhor you?
You left me with an ocean of dazzling fish,
an ocean of incessant fish.

Translated by David Shook