Mensual de Campo (Milonga)

Monthly Field (Milonga)

Mensual de Campo (Milonga)

In what distant field will his march continueEn qué potrero lejano se prolongará su marcha
Below the hardness of frost, or the summer trefoilAbajo dureza de escarcha, o trebolar de verano
After what ear-marked calf or trail of young mareTras qué ternero orejano o rastro de yeguarizo
In the mixed pangaré, or the spotted malacaraEn el pangaré mestizo, o el malacara lunanco
He will be traversing at the pace the reddish horizonIrá recorriendo al tranco el horizonte rojizo

He wore the mourning gorilla and the hat with trimLo enlutaba la gorilla y el sombrero con ribete
And always walked with a pair of goat leather bootsY andaba siempre paquete de botas de cabritilla
His only adornment was a raw leather buckleSolo adornaba una hebilla su ciento de cuero crudo
He was strong, brave, and serious like a facónEra fuerte, corajudo, y serio como un facón
Not much of a talker, but attentive in his greetingsDe poca conversación, pero atento en el saludo

Under the chinstrap he used to carryDebajo del cojinillo acostumbrara llevarla
A knife with a yellow curved handleCuchilla de cueriar, de corvo cabo amarillo
He had a simple recao, short in the southern styleTenía un recao'sencillo, corto a la usanza surera
And on the edge of the saddle, he played the CaliforniaY al borde de la encimera la California tocaba
With the dry sound of the turnkey keyCon ruido seco de aldaba la llave torniquetera

With a similar reflection to his frank smileCon parecido reflejo al de su sonrisa franca
The white canvas ribbon, striped the old gearLa cinta de lona blanca, listaba el apero viejo
He used the smooth and even tusaba, leaving a hammer underneathTusaba liso y parejo, dejando un martillo bajo
And he used for his work, with hidden prideY usó para su trabajo, con escondida jactancia
Instead of the estate's horses, the two horses he broughtEn vez de los de la estancia los dos caballos que trajo

One light and agile, the already named pangaréUno liviano y ligero, el pangaré ya nombrao'
Had a short step and a smooth and even gaitTenía paso cortao'y laya de parejero
Roan, with a thick neck and ready to rideArroillado, coscojero y pronto para montar
Although gentle in his walk, any cold dawnAunque manso en el andar, cualquier madrugada fría
In a burst he could crawl and buckEn un arranque podía rastrarse a corcoviar

The malacara's figure, except for the defective hipLa estampa del malacara salvo el anca defectuosa
Was polished and showy, from the back to the clear foreheadEra bruñida y vistosa, del lomo a la frente clara
Strength of shining bamboo that gleams in every knotReciedumbre de tacuara que en cada nudo reluce
Wide and dark the tuce and the hair like burning embersAncho y renegrido el tuce y brasa encendida el pelo
As if nothing, he would knock a cow to the groundComo si tal cosa al suelo tumbaba una vaca al cruce

Man and horse seem to merge into one figureHombre y caballo parecen unirse en una figura
On the long plain where they disappearSobre la larga llanura por donde desaparecen
And among glimpses that sway their uncertainty in a turnY entre vislumbres que mecen su incertidumbre en un giro
I still imagine that I see his posture when he leftAun imagino que miro su porte cuando se fue
Mounted on the pangaré and the draft malacaraMontao' en el pangaré y el malacara de tiro