Help with poema analysis: Mario Benedetti

Question

Could someone help me break down/interpret the meanings in this poem by Mario Benedetti?

No sólo las ballenas
los delfines, los osos
los elefantes, los mandriles
la foca fraile, el bontebok
los bosques de la amazonia
corren peligro de extinguirse.
También enfrentan ese riesgo
las promesas, los himnos
la palabra de honor, la carta magna
los jubilados, los sin techo
los juramentos mano en biblia
la ética primaria, la autocrítica
los escrúpulos simples
el rechazo al soborno
la cándida vergüenza de haber sido
y el tímido dolor de ya no ser.
Habría por lo tanto que tapar
con buena voluntad y con premura
el agujero cada véz más grande
en la capa de ozono y además
el infame boquete en la conciencia
de los decididores. Así Sea.

6 votes, if I could, lovely poem. Thank you for bringing it up! - annierats, Feb 11, 2013

Answer 1

Where is Mario Benedetti from?

Uruguay, from an Italian family, he lived He died a couple of years ago, I think. - annierats, Feb 12, 2013

Answer 2

If you give it an attempt I would be more than happy to correct your mistakes and help you understand!

Here's a start:

Not only the whales,

the dolphins, the bears,

the elephants, the mandrels

A lot of this is simply vocabulary you can use the translator for!

thank you for that, however i do not mean direct translation i mean deeper connections and interperetations. like, why is he saying this? what does it mean to the world around us? can you help with this? - jetsfen1030, Feb 11, 2013

Everything is at risk :) - ian-hill, Feb 11, 2013

Good comment, Ian, everything decent is at risk.. - annierats, Feb 11, 2013

Answer 3

I don't think automatic translators are any good for poems, thankfully, it needs the human touch.

This is a

beautiful poem, I had never seen it before and I have just done a skippy sort of overview translation for you, feel free to improve and adjust, I haven't got time tonight.

The meaning is, and it is well expressed:

Not only are the whales , the dolphins and the bears etc at risk of becoming extinct,

but so is common decency, self-critisism, common scruples and decent ways of thinking,

those without a roof over their head, the retired, the honest shame for having existed

and the shy/gentle fear of not being/existing any more.. We should willingly close the hole in the ozone layer, which is forever growing, the shameful gap in the concience of the decision makers,

So it goes, ( It is thus)

Answer 4

I like it. It is a beautiful composition.