Lustrabotas de Avenida

Avenue Shoe Shiner

Lustrabotas de Avenida

Shiner of wandering miseriesLustrador de las miserias ambulantes
I know everyone wears glovesSé que todos usan guantes
To shake your handPara estrechar tu mano
Dirty from the forearmSucia desde el antebrazo
To all your fingersHasta todos tus dedos
Even though they are tenQue aunque sean diez
They are powerlessImpotentes son
Even though they are tenQue aunque sean diez
Your hands are twoTus manos son dos

Fighter of everyday ironyLuchador de la ironía cotidiana
Between your dirty handsEntre tus manos mugrientas
You grip your bristle weaponOprimes tu arma de cerda
Like every morningComo todas las mañanas
On the street or in the barEn la calle o en el bar
They call you without knowing who you areTe llaman a vos sin saber quien sos
Student without a teacherAlumno sin maestro
Who gave birth to you in the darkQuien te dio a luz a oscuras

If we think your life is ignorantSi pensamos que tu vida es ignorante
Among bottles of dyeEntre frascos de tintura
Among the poor and avenuesEntre pobres y avenidas
You have your epitaph readyTienes tu epitafio listo
And a ten inY un diez de graduado en
In lifeEn la vida
Shining in the sunLustrando al sol
How much I loved you, little oneCuanto te amé, pequeño
How much I cried for your deathCuanto lloré tu muerte
Among newspapers and ragsEntre diarios y franelas