Like the Indian girl who picks up excrement

Dried amongst the sun’ s branches,

Plastering them onto the distempered wall,

Like the Masai woman who fills her hands with dung

and in the midst of the buzzing blue

makes a paste to erect her hut,

so also the excrement of the spirit can be used

to raise the poem with the word.

EXCREMENTS

Com la nena índia agafa excrements

que s´han cuit entre les branques del sol

i els va encastant a la paret malalta,

com la dona massai s´omple les mans

de fems i enmig de la blavor brunzent

els pasta per fer créixer la cabana,

els excrements de l´esperit

poden ser també aprofitats

per enlairar el poema amb la paraula.

Tònia Passola is a Catalan language poet who was born in Barcelona. Her poetry takes the form of a personal diary. Using memory, imagination, and dream she transcends the limitations of language and creates an extraordinary poetic world. Her work  has been translated into French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Nederland, English, Macedonian, Albanian, Greek, Arabic, Chinese, Danish, and Spanish.