Temporona Mañanera
Leonel Gomez
Morning Temporona
Smoke the mouth of the stove
And we grind in the angico
Drip the grease from the granite
To barbecue the cowboys
The maul, that dawn
Planted in these fields
And a gentle, mild wind
Is raising a frost
A brown collar poncho
Rests on the shoulders
And the ranchers sit down
On the backs of thick fur
Cold morning with a gloomy sky
Not even the sun had the courage
To rise early with this breeze
August-like appearance
It feels like drizzle
This cold morning that arrived
The folks adjust the saddle
And reach for the reins
A well-braided lasso
To cinch the stuck cattle
To relieve from a hard work
For a cowboy, a ranch hand
Chilly May morning
Brought a long frost
With work for the cambona
Leaning against the fire
Winter arrived earlier
And a black sheepskin
Woke up disoriented
Underneath the trees
In this Rio Grande region
One winter after another passes
Breaking in claws and colts
In the wide open fields
In the sheds, embers and splinters
Traces of dawn
And a mate of washed herb
For frosty mornings and saddling
