Pepsi Cola - Hubert Matiúwàa

One Sunday a man arrived
to sell black water
that glistened like a riverstone.
A lady bought some
and said:
‘It’s as sweet as heaven’s water must be.’
They called it iya maskoria – water of mercy.
To consecrate their tongues,
some asked for a barter.
It wasn’t possible.
They asked why,
‘It’s called Pepsi Cola,’ said the man.
We started to drink
from that death, which shrivels up our skin and makes our blood toothsome.
Now not even doctors’ water can heal us

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Hubert Matiúwàa (born 1986) Mexico
Translated by Juana Adcock
Source: Modern Poetry in Translation