The Two C's

Ni afuera ni adentro soy

A bland and ordinary boy.

 

Soy prójimo de dos países-

My soul is cleft in two twin pieces.

 

Que al nacer marcado fui,

Defining me a double C.

 

¡O Canadá, Colombia!

My home, my bliss, my anima.

 

Con ambas ricas C’s estoy

Endowed with strength, mystique, and joy:

 

Yo puedo conseguir merced

Within the yellow, blue, and red,

 

Y desde el tiempo en que nací

The Maple Leaf was part of me.

 

Así surgió mi identidad-

A coupled crest in cultures clad.

 

Y pase lo que pase a mí,

I’ll always be a double C.

 

¡O Canadá, Colombia!

My home, my bliss, my anima.

-EDP

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXtOEKlANTY

Reviews

[.]

Hii! Spanish! Well I love it but Poesia Publishes English!. I'll see more of your poems. Loved your poem as always.

[emipoemi]

Glad you did. This is actually bilingual, and the gist can be deciphered without much knowledge of the language (moreover, kind of odd how you would call the journal by non-anglo word for "poetry" but not accept work in other languages, no?). But I get it. Thanks for reading.

[.]

Aha! Yes I got that! But we need to be convenient to readers too. I'd consider if you do a easy translation along with this one. I'd love to put this new kind there. But need a translation along with original one.

[emipoemi]

maybe with a poem that's completely one language (I have translations for those). but not for the multilingual. It would look so bad. But I'm eclectic and I got a lot of poems on display for people to read. Any of them are up for grabs.

[.]

Yeah no problem, I love your poems. I'll think about this one but I'd take time. And I'm putting another poem of yours right now.
Be well! :)

[lightsong]

So so very lovely!!! I always thought of Spanish as a really beautiful and musical language (not that I understand it lol), the way You put the two languages together is so beautiful, I think of Your poem a kind of a national song, because it's simple and powerful! brilliant work!

[emipoemi]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[H L Rose]

I really liked this. The concept of "double C" was original, and your explanation about your identity being from both places was sweet and warm. I liked the first line about not being a plain person inside or outside, because you have two beautiful cultures inside you.

[emipoemi]

That was indeed the message I was meaning to get across! Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it (it sure is a thrill when someone proves to have understood even the Spanish!)

[Chris]

A single whole - shared.

I've found languages do not translate equally - the emotional intent to a too literal content - and the loss is usually in the eyes of each reader.

[emipoemi]

indeed. Glad you enjoyed it. I sure enjoyed writing it, and making the two languages/identities intertwine to express one message. Thanks for reading.

[Chris]

Hearing it was worth the view.

[Phill Oz O'fee]

I could see where your poetic theme takes it origins; to my knowledge, Colombian Canadians are the largest South American immigrant group in Canada. So the duality of language speaking as one voice really works – excellent write! :-)

[ROXANE DORSEY]

VERY VERY NICE THANKS FOR SHARING

[emipoemi]

thanks for reading.

[Great Aunt Astri]

Your explanation to William helped me to understand this poem.. Actually, I think it is very cleverly done. One voice playing off the other. There are so many people in the world you have duel allegiance. In this case it is a double C -very clever!

[emipoemi]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading.

[William Liston]

This is great. I didn't understand half of it (I can only speak/read English, haha), but I felt like the rhythm and flow of the words carried the poem along, and I definetely understood your message and how it was reflected in the poem's structure. I've never read a poem in another language, so this was a fun experience. You did a great job!

- William Liston

[emipoemi]

thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. Finally enough, many who don't understand the Spanish could still grasp the meaning of the lines based on what the English is saying. For every stanza, and essentially the poem as a whole, is comprised of two voices that speak in tandem, with one playing off the other (in this case, the English plays off the Spanish).