Indesinenter (Salvador Espriu).

Original:

Nosaltres sabíem 
d’un únic senyor
i vèiem com
esdevenia
gos.

Envilit pel ventre,
per l’afalac al ventre,
per la por,
s’ajup sota el fuet
amb foll oblit
de la raó
que té.

Arnat, menjat
de plagues,
sense parar llepava
l’aspra mà
que l’ha fermat
des de tant temps
al fang.

Li hauria estat
senzill de fer
del seu silenci mur
impenetrable, altíssim:
va triar
la gran vergonya mansa
dels lladrucs.

Mai no hem pogut,
però, desesperar
del vell vençut
i elevem en la nit
un cant a crits,
car les paraules vessen
de sentit.

L’aigua, la terra,
l’aire, el foc
són seus,
si s’arrisca d’un cop
a ser qui és.

Caldrà que digui
de seguida prou,
que vulgui ara
caminar de nou,
alçat, sense repòs,
per sempre més
home salvat en poble,
contra el vent.

Salvat en poble,
ja l’amo de tot,
no gos mesell,
sinó l’únic senyor.

---

We used to know
one master alone,
we then saw her
grow into
dog.

Wretched by its gut,
praised for its gut,
out of fear it
yields to the leash,
foolishly oblivious
that its right
still stands.

Waning,
downtrodden,
it won’t stop licking
the harsh hand
that for so long
has kept it
mud-bound.

It was once possible
to turn its silence
into a wall,
impregnable and secure.
We witness instead
a muted shame:
growls alone.

It was not possible,
though, to desist
after her loss,
as we cry in the night
a raging song
against the dying
of the light.

It’ll all be hers:
water, land,
skies, and fire;
if only she dares
speak her name.

She must say
«enough!» at once,
and to rise again
she must vow.

A restless stand
that’ll save us,
and save her
from the tide.

Saved as a whole,
freed from all bounds,
no more a timid dog
our own master at last.