'Mañana' a poem by Paz Garcia
acolumbro les piedres llabraes de la muria y alcuérdome de la figar na antoxana, de la llave na marcación del ventanu, de la puerta cola tarabica echada y el cuarterón abiertu
de la zapica en puyu y
el caricós na cenicera
de güelu sentáu nel escanu
cola boina na rodiya
espovisando cola variquina ablanu
y arriba so la bufarda les manos
que sanen cuesen na ALFA
na payareta, l'alcordanza trúxome
l'arume a espliegu y llimón
a sábanes doblaes nel arca'l cuartu
al pie la cama mio güela
I can make out the hewed stones of the wall
And I remember the fig tree in the courtyard,
and the key in the window frame, and the door
locked with the tarabica, and the cuarterón open
and the jug sitting on the bench and
the ember in the ashtray
I remember grandpa sitting on the steps
with the hat on his knees
Dusting with a hazelnut branch
And up above, in the attic,
Healing hands sew on the ALFA sewing machine
On the straw heap, my memory brought back
The smell of lavander and lemon
Of folded bedsheets in the bedroom chest
At the bottom of my grandmother's bed
antoxana - in rural Asturias this space is multiuse, a garden, the courtyard, patio etc.
tarabica - wooden latch used to close doors.
cuarterón - part of a door that can be opened, like a window in a door
(photo taken by me!)
zapica - today cider is poured from a bottle into a glass, but in the old days the cider was poured from the barrel into a zapica, a mug made out of wood or porcelain, and from there into a cup.
poyu - a bank for sitting, constructed against a wall.
caricós - a smoldering ember. There's an interesting way of preparing coffee that involves the caricós, used often by cowherds. You put a piece of ember in the coffee, either to quickly warm it up or to add some taste to it.
ALFA - Basque company that became famous creating sewing machines.