Nicanor Parra -Y comenzaron a pasar las cosas-

Y comenzaron a pasar las cosas

Dictadura de Ibánez
República Socialista de los 100 días
Frente Popular

Era frecuente verlo
Rodeado de jóvenes iconoclastas
En los jardines del Piedragógico
O en la Oficina del Quebrantahueso:

Tengo orden de liquidar la poesía
Vaca perdida aclara actitud frente a vaca encontrada
Alza del pan provoca otra alza del pan


And things started to happen

The dictatorship of Ibánez
The Socialist Republic of 100 days
The Popular Front

He was often seen
Surrounded by the iconoclastic young
In the gardens of the Pebblegogy
Or in the Office of the Bonebreaker:

I have been ordered to liquidate poetry
A lost cow clarifies the attitude in facing a found cow
A rise in bread prices provokes another increase

Translated by Dave Oliphant