In anger, M`Boy, the Serpent-God
Transformed Naipi and Tarobá
Into a rock and a yearning tree
At the huge Falls of Iguaçu
As punishment, for running away
From their destiny; as Francesca da Rimini
And her lover, forever in Dante`s Hell,
Were condemned for following their own commands.
Or was it a Serpent-Goddess
Who desired Tarobá for herself?
And if he would not be with her
The earth would be buckled into absolute chaos
And turned into cataracts to kill them both,
With Naipi turned into a rock
Upon which Tarobá grows as grass,
While the jealous goddess hides in her cave.
O to get lost in Paraguay,
Get lost, get lost, like an Indian,
Escaping from wrath of some tormenting god,
But without that god ever finding you!
O! to be with the Indians,
Hiding in the Chaco, dispersing away
From Civilization! O what a dream
With the psyche melting into everynothing.
O to forget all hassles and quarrels
Of the civilized world, the guilt and insuperable
Pain, just to feel love and death
And hunger and misery in a dark thorn.
With the crashing Falls and the Guaraní myths,
And the easy girls and the simple steps,
Survival is all that it ever was,
Why must our brains be so filled with hell?
Why must one always be full of concern,
Always worrying about sticks or bones;
Our ancestors fought for caves or fields,
But did not prick their consciences
As we all do. We have lost a boon!
But think we advance in our degeneracy;
O give me sun, and a lovely girl,
And let me forget, for a minute, all.