La Inmigrante
Se despierta extrañada
desconociendo el cuarto.
¿Adónde se fue el padre,
dónde la madre
que hace un momento apenas
la acompañaban?
Se levanta y suspira.
Este cuarto extranjero
y la luz indiferente
de una mañana cualquiera
que la hiere.
Desde la calle
los ruidos de la vida entran.
Y el suelo queda estrujado
como un pañuelo.
Translator’s Glossary
|
WORD
|
DEFINITION
|
POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
|
|---|---|---|
| acompañaban (v.) | past tense of the verb acompañar— to be with or to go along with | they accompanied, they were with, they escorted |
| adónde (adv.) | interrogative, questioning location | to where? |
| apenas (adv.) | in the immediate past; used to emphasize a small amount | just, only, barely, hardly, scarcely |
| calle (n.) | roadway for cars, pedestrians, and urban life | road, street, outside, neighborhood |
| como (prep.) | in the manner of; similar | like, as, akin to, similar to, not unlike |
| cualquiera (adj.) | no matter which | whichever, any, whatever |
| cuarto (n.) | space or segment of the inside of a building separated by walls | room, boxed space, area, territory, dwelling |
| de (prep.) | indicates relation or origin | of, by, with |
| desconociendo (v.) | from the verb desconocer—to find foreign or not recognize | not knowing, not remembering, not recognizing, not identifying, unfamiliar with |
| desde (prep.) | source or beginning of something | from |
| dónde (adv.) | interrogative, questioning location | where? |
| el (art.) | masculine singular; indicating one as distinct from another | the |
| entran (v.) | from the verb entrar—to come or go into | they enter, they access, they come in, they flood in |
| este (adj.) | something already mentioned | this |
| estrujado (adj.) | pressed from two sides | crumpled, crushed, squeezed, pressed, wrung out |
| extranjero (adj.) | from a different place | foreign, strange, unknown |
| extrañada (adj.) | thrown into confusion; feeling as if cast out of a place or relationship | exiled, missed, cast out, surprised, perturbed, disconcerted, weirded-out, uncomfortable |
| hace (v.) | used before a length of time; refers to the past | ago |
| hiere (v.) | from the verb herir—to physically or emotionally injure | wounds, hurts, injures |
| indiferente (adj.) | makes no difference or gives no importance to | indifferent, unimportant, irrelevant |
| inmigrante (n.) | a person who takes up residence in a new country | immigrant, migrant, newcomer |
| la (art./pron.) | feminine singular—indicating one as distinct from another (if before a noun); or her (if before a verb) | the, her |
| los (art.) | masculine plural—indicating one as distinct from another | the |
| luz (n.) | energy that produces brightness | light, glow |
| madre (n.) | a female parent | mom, mother |
| mañana (n.) | the period of time between sunrise and noon; the day after today | morning, daybreak, tomorrow, future |
| momento (n.) | a brief portion of time, a point in time | moment, instant, minute, second |
| padre (n.) | a male parent | dad, father |
| pañuelo (n.) | small cloth for wiping the nose or wearing around the neck | handkerchief, scarf |
| que (conj.) | used to introduce a new clause | that, which |
| queda (v.) | from the verb quedar—to continue in a place or condition | remains, stays, keeps, still is |
| ruidos (n.) | the sensation perceived by the sense of hearing through sound waves | noises, racket, clamor, sounds |
| se despierta (v.) | From the verb despertarse—to wake up from sleep | she awakens, she wakes up, she arises |
| se fue (v.) | past tense of the verb irse—to go | go, escape, withdraw, leave |
| se levanta (v.) | from the verb levantarse—to get out of bed or stand up | she gets up, she rises, she stands |
| suelo (n.) | part of the room that is walked on | ground, floor, earth |
| suspira (v.) | from the verb suspirar—to take a long and loud breath, to breathe | sighs, gasps, breathes, takes a deep breath |
| un (art.) | masculine form—used to distinguish something or someone | one, a |
| una (art.) | feminine form—used to distinguish something or someone | one, a |
| vida (n.) | the distinctive quality of animate beings; the period from birth to death | life, daily life, hustle and bustle |
| y (conj.) | in addition to | and, plus, moreover |
Artistic Elements
About Free Verse
Free verse is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from
limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such
poems are without rhythms and rhyme schemes; do not follow regular rhyme
scheme rules and still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his
own shape to a poem how he/she desires. However, it still allows poets to use
alliteration, rhyme, cadences or rhythms to get the effects that they consider are
suitable for the piece.
Bio
Daisy Zamora grew up in Nicaragua under the Somoza dictatorship. She took part in the Nicaraguan Revolution during the1970s. She was forced into exile but continued to help the revolution from abroad. Once the revolution was successful, she became Nicaragua’s Deputy Minister of Culture. One of Latin America’s most prominent poets, Zamora uses poetry to defend those who are not given the voice to speak.