Tengo
I have, just wait and see,
that being black and all
no one stopping me
as bar or dance hall guest
or treading the carpet of a hotel,
shouting that there's no bed,
no minimal cell and no colossal cell,
no little cell where I might take my rest.
I have, just wait and see,
freedom from the rural overseer
who straps me up and puts me in a jail
or drags my body from its native shed
down the royal highway's helpless trail.
I have the land as well as I've the sea,
no country,
no high-life,
no tennis and no yacht,
but beach to endless waves and waves to beach,
blue and naked giant of democracy:
in short, the sea.
Books by Nicolás Guillén in Black Latin American Writers In Translation
Tengo
Nicolás Guillén
Tengo
Nicolás Guillén
The great zoo: a bilingual edition
Nicolás Guillén
About Black Latin American Writers In Translation
Welcome to Black Latin American Writers In Translation, an organization and digital project that highlights the historical works of Black Latin American writers and their translated works. BLAWiT is a resource for readers, writers, publishers, students and teachers interested in Black American and Latin American culture in general, and Black Latin American culture in particular. It gathers book covers, excerpts, bibliographic clues and digital downloads of works by Black Latin American authors in original language and in translation.
