The Jester
In one hand I hold tragedy And in the other Comedy,⎯ Masks for the soul. Laugh with me. You would laugh! Weep with me. You would weep! Tears are my laughter. Laughter in my pain. Cry at my grinning mouth, If you will. Laugh at my sorrow’s reign. I am the Black Jester, The dumb clown of the world, The booted, booted fool of silly men. Once I was wise. Shall I be wise again?
El Bufón
En una mano Llevo la tragedia Y en la otra La comedia,- Máscaras para el alma. Rían conmigo. ¡Y cómo reirían! Lloren conmigo. ¡Y cómo llorarían! Las lágrimas son mi risa. La risa es mi dolor. Lloren si quieren Al ver mi boca risueña. Rían al ver el reino de mi pena. Soy el Bufón Negro, El payaso bufo del mundo, El botado, el tonto botado de hombres necios. **** Fui sabio antes. ¿Será que lo vuelvo a ser? Translation by Patricia Bejarano Fisher
Author Information
“Langston Hughes was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of black intellectual, literary, and artistic life that took place in the 1920s in a number of American cities, particularly Harlem. A major poet, Hughes also wrote novels, short stories, essays, and plays. He sought to honestly portray the joys and hardships of working-class black lives, avoiding both sentimental idealization and negative stereotypes” (Poetry Foundation)
Sources
Spanish translation by Linda Murphy Marshall
Poetry Foundation. “Langston Hughes.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 2014, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/langston-hughes.