Oración

Oración

 

By Amaury Pacheco

(Translated by Michael Deibert)

 

Here we are the pilgrims.

Myrrh, incense, gold from our poetic stay,

diamond rain we bring.

SAN LÁZARO, I pray to your heart for each Cuban,

materialize your goodness on the island, bathe it with your gifts,

beyond these edges so that prosperity

lights a fire in homes, in mind, body and soul.

 

SAN LÁZARO of the diasporas

poetic chimeric kabbalistic buddhist new age christian

progressive put in the 17 Cosmic friend of GOD

Give us Cubans the certainty to make our way

between the deceptions dangers discrepancies

disappointments sadness miseries and misfortunes

of a blurred destiny.

 

Convert the adventure of living

into the joy of being reborn at every moment.

Give us Cubans today the peace of change.

 

Biographical note:

Amaury Pacheco (born 1969) is an Afro-Cuban poet and activist and one of the founders of the Movimiento San Isidro, a group of activist artists that has staged protests against the restrictive measures of the Cuban government since 2018.

Translator’s note:

San Lázaro (Saint Lazarus), the patron saint of healing and the sick, is represented by the orisha Babalú-Ayé in the Santería religion. His shrine, the site of an annual pilgrimage, is located in the Havana suburb of Rincón.