Commentary on the poem 'Motivos del lobo'

THE MOTIVES OF THE WOLF

The man who has the heart of lis,

cherub soul, heavenly tongue,

the minimal and sweet Francis of Assisi,

is with a rude and grim animal,

fearful beast, of blood and of theft,

the jaws of fury, the eyes of evil:

the wolf of Gubbia, the terrible wolf,

enraged, he has devastated the surroundings;

cruel has destroyed all the flocks;

it devoured lambs, it devoured shepherds,

and their deaths and injuries are countless.

Strong hunters armed with irons

they were smashed. The tough fangs

they gave account of the bravest dogs,

like goats and lambs.

Francisco came out:

he looked for the wolf

in its burrow.

Near the cave he found the beast

huge, that when he saw him he launched fierce

against him. Francisco, with his sweet voice,

raising your hand,

to the angry wolf he said: "Peace, brother

Wolf! The animal

he beheld the man in coarse sackcloth;

left his surly air,

it closed its open aggressive jaws,

and he said: "All right, brother Francisco!"

How! Exclaimed the saint. Is it law that you live

of horror and death?

Does the blood you shed

your diabolical snout, the duel and fright

that you spread, the crying

of the peasants, the cry, the pain

of so many creatures of Our Lord,

will they not contain your infernal anger?

Do you come from hell?

Has his eternal resentment infused you

Luzbel or Belial?

And the great wolf, humble: "Winter is hard,

and hunger is horrible! In the frozen forest

I did not find what to eat; and I looked for the cattle,

and sometimes I ate cattle and shepherd.

The blood? I saw more than one hunter

on his horse, carrying the goshawk

to the fist; or run after the wild boar,

the bear or the deer; and I saw more than one

stain with blood, hurt, torture,

from the hoarse trunks to the deaf clamor,

to the animals of Our Lord.

And it was not by hunger, they would hunt.

Francisco responds: —In man there is

bad yeast.

When born it comes with sin. It's sad.

But the simple soul of the beast is pure.

You are going to have

from today what to eat.

You will leave alone

flocks and people in this country.

May God melify your wild being!

"It's okay, Brother Francisco de Asís."

"Before the Lord, who binds and looses everything,

in faith of promise give me the leg.

The wolf held out his paw to the brother

of Assisi, who in turn held out his hand.

They went to the village. People saw

and what he looked at he almost did not believe.

After the religious was the fierce wolf,

and, lower the head, still I followed him

like a house dog, or like a lamb.

Francisco called the people to the square

and there he preached.

And he said, "Here's a nice hunt."

Brother wolf is coming with me;

He swore to me no longer to be your enemy,

and don't repeat your bloody attack.

You, on the other hand, will give their food

to the poor beast of God. -So be it!,

the people from the village answered.

And then as a sign

of contentment,

the good animal moved its head and tail,

and he entered the convent with Francisco de Asís.

*

Some time the wolf was calm

in the holy asylum.

His coarse ears heard the psalms

and her clear eyes were moistened.

He learned a thousand graces and made a thousand games

when I went to the kitchen with the laymen.

And when Francis his prayer made,

the wolf licked the poor sandals.

I went out to the street,

I went through the mountains, descended into the valley,

he entered the houses and they gave him something

to eat. They looked at him like a meek greyhound.

One day, Francisco was absent. And the Wolf

sweet, the meek and good wolf, the honest wolf,

disappeared, returned to the mountain,

and their howling and fury began again.

Again he felt the fear, the alarm,

among neighbors and among shepherds;

fright filled the surroundings,

Courage and weapons were of no use,

well the beast

never gave respite to his fury,

As if I had

fires of Moloch and Satan.

When the divine saint returned to town,

everyone looked for him with complaints and tears,

and with a thousand complaints they gave testimony

of what they suffered and lost so much

by that infamous demon wolf.

Francisco de Asís became severe.

Went to the mountain

to look for the false butcher wolf.

And next to his cave he found the critter.

—In the name of the Father of the sacred universe,

conjure you, "he said," oh wicked wolf!

to answer me: Why have you returned to evil?

Answer. I hear you.

As in a dull struggle, the animal spoke,

the frothy mouth and the fatal eye:

—Brother Francisco, don't get too close ...

I was calm there in the convent;

I went out to the town,

and if they gave me something I was happy

and meek he ate.

But I began to see that in all the houses

there were Envy, Anger, Anger,

and in all the faces the embers burned

of hatred, of lust, of infamy and lies.

Brothers to brothers made war,

the weak lost, the bad won,

female and male were like dog and bitch,

and one good day everyone beat me up.

They saw me humble, lick my hands

And feet. I followed your sacred laws,

all creatures were my brothers:

the brother men, the brother oxen,

star sisters and worm brothers.

And so they beat me and kicked me out.

And his laughter was like boiling water,

and the beast revived within my entrails,

and I felt like a bad wolf all of a sudden;

but always better than those bad people.

and I started fighting here again,

to defend and feed me.

As the bear does, as the wild boar,

that to live they have to kill.

Leave me on the mountain, leave me on the cliff,

let me exist in my freedom,

go to your convent, brother Francisco,

follow your path and your holiness.

The saint of Assisi said nothing to him.

She looked at him with a deep look,

and left with tears and grief,

and spoke to the everlasting God with his heart.

The forest wind carried his prayer,

which was: Our Father, who art in heaven ...

Ruben Dario, Nicaraguance poet