First Voices
—
The Tides
Before, the winds blew without cessation over the island of Vancouver. Here existed no good times, nor was there a low tide.
The men decided to kill the winds.
They sent out spies. The Winter Blackbird failed; so did The Sardine. Despite its bad eyesight and its broken arms, it was The Seagull who could elude the hurricanes that stood guard before the house of the winds.
The men then sent an army of fish, led by The Seagull. Together, the fish threw themselves at the door. When they came out, the winds trampled them, slipping and falling, one after the other, over The Stingray, who skewed them by their tails and devoured them.
But the west wind was trapped alive. Prisoner of the men, it promised not to blow continuously, that it would have soft air and light breezes, and that the waters would leave the bank twice a day, so that mollusks could be fished at low tide. The men absolved the wind for life.
The west wind has kept his word.
Translation ©2024. 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.
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