Three Poems from Chiapas

Abstract

Three Poems from Chiapas Juana Peñate Montejo (bio) Translated by Carol Rose Little (bio) and Charlotte Friedman (bio) I Am the Alphabet They say, grass born in the forest,my body holds the freshness of mountains.I have absorbed the garden’s blossoming,my skin soaked by rivers.They say, I am the alphabet.Bright light of morning is how I show myself. This Land, Your World The candle sits undisturbed,smoldering pine in the air,and a memory of you travels through time.It is your presence in my song, chuchu’.* When I Wake It is quietin the annona tree,twisted and hollow,roots grown deep into the rock.Morning, and I hear nothing. [End Page 32] Translations from the Ch’ol Click for larger view View full resolution CH’OL EMBROIDERED SHIRTS / PHOTO BY DIANA LAURA MONTEJO Juana Peñate Montejo Juana Peñate Montejo is a Ch’ol poet and writer from Tumbalá, Chiapas, Mexico. She has authored several books of poetry in Ch’ol with self-translations in Spanish, including Ipusik’al Matye’lum / Corazón de la Selva (Pluralia) and, most recently, Isoñil Ja’al / Danza de la Lluvia, which won the 2020 Premio de Literaturas Indígenas de América. Carol Rose Little Carol Rose Little is an assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Oklahoma. She has been working with Ch’ol communities in Chiapas, Mexico, since 2015 and holds a PhD in linguistics from Cornell University. Charlotte Friedman Charlotte Friedman is a poet, author (The Girl Pages), and adjunct professor at Barnard College, Columbia University. Her poetry has been published in such journals as the Connecticut River Review, Intima, and Waterwheel Review. Footnotes Visit worldlit.org to hear the author read the poems in Ch’ol and Spanish. Editorial note: The first two poems are from Ipusik’al Matye’lum / Corazón de Selva (Pluralia, 2013). “When I Wake” is from Isoñil Ja’al / Danza de la Lluvia. *Chuchu’ means “grandmother.” Copyright © 2022 World Literature Today and the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma