Niño silvestre [English translation]

Child from the hill

omen of death

indigenous child

that watching the sidewalk comes and goes.

Child of no one

that searching for his life

ruins the avenue

and gives a bad reputation to the city.

Recently born

with his innocence cut out

that in the pack

redeems his sin of existence.

Child without child

defenceless and frightened

that learns by means of sticks

how the beasts survive.

Indigenous child

shoe-shiner and petty thief

accepts bribes in pieces or whole,

like ounces of chocolate.

He prowls the street

while the day watches it

that at night hides

so that they don't kill him.

And if luck

by calling him from any manner

dispels the wolf,

and gladdens his life a bit more.

If the adhesive

doesn't rot his lungs,

if he escapes from the thugs,

if he survives the whip, perhaps

he reach old age

between jail and "metals"

sowing the hill

of more indigenous children, to chance.

And any night

in a cleaning job

he turns his head

to one of them, without batting an eyelid.

• Artist:Joan Manuel Serrat
• Album:Nadie es perfecto