Читать книгу They Call Me Güero - David Bowles - Страница 13

LULLABY

Like lots of border kids,

my first song was a lullaby

that my abuela sang

to warn me and to mystify.

My mom says when I got home,

smiling without teeth,

she took me in her arms

and serenaded me—

Duérmete mi niño

duérmeteme ya

porque viene el Cucu

y te comerá.

Y si no te come,

él te llevará

hasta su casita

que en el monte está.

Go to sleep, my baby

sleep for me right now

to keep Cucu from coming

and swallowing you down.

And if he doesn’t eat you

he’ll take you far from me

to his little cabin

that sits amid the trees.

So I learned the dangers

of this crazy, mixed-up place—

there are monsters lurking,

but family lore can keep you safe.