First Voices
—
The Guaiacum Tree
A young girl of the Niv Lake tribe went out in search of water, when she came across a great thick tree, the Guaiacum tree…Nasuk, as she sensed it was named. She embraced its firm trunk, squeezing it with all her might, and stuck her fingernails into its bark. The tree bled. After letting it go, she said: “Which would you prefer, Nasuk, to be a man?”
And so did the Guaiacum become a man, and he went looking for her. When he found her, he showed her his scratched-up back and laid down by her side.
Translation ©2023. Terence Clarke. All rights reserved.
—
About Eduardo Galeano? click here. For a selection of Galeano’s books, click here. For my recent Substack piece that tells of Galeano, click here.
“Terence Clarke: Recovering The Arts” columns are free of charge. Subscribe to them here. Or, if you wish, you can help us financially with a paid subscription at $5.00 per month or $50.00 per year. That, too, can be done here. It’s your call.
We will not share information about your subscription with anyone.