La Cancion de Las Cigarras

Listen to the wide-eyed child
the song of the cicadas,
the song of the cicadas,
the song of the cicadas.

Child, the five times table...
Repeat the whole table...
Tell me child, what do
trees, herbs, and plants eat?
Conjugate the verb "to be quiet"...
child, go to the blackboard...
and write forty times:
"I don't know anything at all".

And the child listens in suspense,
the song of the cicadas,
the song of the cicadas,
the song of the cicadas.

"Child, don't cross the street...
Child, you stay at home...
Child, be quiet, don't shout...
Child, the door, don't go out...
Child, the soup is cold...
Child, I don't know what's wrong with you...
Child, how rude...
when I speak, you keep quiet!"

And the child listens perplexed
the song of the cicadas,
the song of the cicadas,
the song of the cicadas.

"Child, don't tell lies...
Child, lift your head...
Child, don't touch the books...
Child, close the window...
Child, don't step in the mud...
but child, for God's sake, you're getting dirty!...
Useless child, silly child...
who's good for nothing..."

And the poor child doesn't understand
the song of the cicadas,
the song of the cicadas,
the song of the cicadas.

Time will pass and the child
will think of a girl.
He will leave innocence behind,
God knows, where forgotten.
He will sell for a few coins,
freedom, hope.
He will have a love and children,
he will have a wage and a house.
And without even realizing it,
almost by magic,
this poor little child
will turn into a cicada.

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J. C. M. P.