In preparation to Colombia, I am brushing up on my Spanish. In the early mornings I am reading the poetry of Chilean poet Óscar Hahn and in the afternoon I am reading (in English) Living to Tell the Tale, an autobiography of one of my favourite writers Gabriel García Márquez.
I want to share with you this deceptively simple - but chilling! - poem by Óscar Hahn that has got me thinking about an old theme I have written about: our personal responsibility.
Here it is in its original Spanish, which I recommend you read even if your Spanish is very basic (otherwise skip to the English translation below):
Nunca se sabe
En un barrio cualquiera
en el trabajo
en la universidad
hay un individuo que parece
perfectamente normal
un buen ciudadano
un estudiante más
un padre de familia
que cumple con sus deberes
y duerme tranquilo
El no sabe
que en otras condiciones
en otro tiempo
en otras circunstancias
podría ser
un informante
de la policía secreta
un censor de libros
un torturador
Pero ahí está
muy cerca suyo
o quizás es usted mismo
o el que lee este poema
o el que lo escribe
And here is my English translation:
You never know
In a random neighbourhood
at work
at the university
there is an individual who seems
perfectly normal
a good citizen
just another student
a family man
who does his homework
and sleeps peacefully
He does not know
that in other conditions
in another time
in other circumstances
he could be
an informer
of the secret police
a book censor
a torturer
But there he is
very close to you
or perhaps it is you yourself
or the one who reads this poem
or the one who writes it
The first thing that struck me in this poem is the straight-forward, non-flowery language, but the profound idea this simplistic language addresses. Secondly, it was the poem’s pace, dictated by the line breaks; how the poem progresses from the very general setting (“a random neighbourhood” to “an individual” (no name given) who seems/ perfectly normal” - line break/pause - “a good citizen.” To me, it feels almost cinematic. We zoom in from this random neighbourhood to this random individual, who could be anyone. And this perfectly normal individual, in fact, could be a an informer, a torturer.
The poem has now turned dark. We learn that this informer/ torturer, who seemed “perfectly normal” and “a good citizen”, “a good father” is “very close to you.” So, we are getting even closer in proximity! We have moved from the random neighbourhood somewhere, to close to us. But we are not done! The poem gets all the more darker when we find out that this informer/ torturer could be US - the reader of the poem, or, the writer of the poem!
I don’t know about you, but I had goosebumps when I arrived at the end. The joy I felt at the beginning of the poem (hey, I understand every Spanish word in this poem!) was quickly replaced by the chilling recognition that all of us - writers and poets included! - could be doing the most evil things. My friend Lynne, who lent me this book when I was sick, said that it could be the history of Chile. I recognized some of my country’s history in it too.
But what I find most admirable, and again, chilling, about this poem is that Hahn never absolves himself from responsibility. He recognizes that he too, could be that person, “under other conditions, other circumstances.”
This resonates with me deeply, as I have been arguing the same point since my teenage years, when I first studied about the Holocaust. I am wary of this human capability of dehumanization and inflicting the worst pain on others (need I give examples?).
But, I am also encouraged by human goodness. To leave you on a positive note, I highly recommend the German film The Lives of Others (2006) about a Stasi officer who spies on a playwright and his lover in 1984 East Berlin and changes forever after listening to Sonate vom Guten Menschen (Sonata about a Good Man)
(You can listen to the sonata here:)
The Lives of Others is one of my favourite films of all times, and not only because the political scenario it depicts, which was similar, if not worse, in Hungary. If Óscar Hahn’s poem is a warning, The Lives of Others is the hope that we can choose to be good. It’s not easy, but here we are. One never knows.
Your thoughts on the poem, the sonata, and the film The Lives of Others? Or other chilling poems/films/songs that have moved you?
And as always, thank you for reading me!
"The Sympathizer" by Viet Thanh Nguyen is a favorite of mine in handling these themes. It's a story about a biracial Vietnamese man who becomes a double agent for North Vietnam in America, and finds his humanity trapped between conflicting ideologies. It's paced perfectly - a can't-put-it-down plot! - has rich characterization, and depicts spycraft in granular detail.
Can't speak to the quality of "The Sympathizer" TV series, but if you'd like a new series along the same storylines to get into, "The Little Drummer Girl", an adaptation of John Le Carre's novel, is highly recommended!
I'm forever struck by how thin the line is between what causes someone to make a decision that changes them from doing something good to something evil. Like you said, the poem is chilling because that capacity for immense rottenness is in every one of us, including me. As is the capacity for generosity and goodness. It's why I've always been so fascinated by psychology, particularly social psychology.
This also makes me think of why I find true crime so fascinating. So often, what you hear from people who knew a murderer or some other person who's committed atrocious crimes, they'll say they never saw it coming. It's scary how little we truly know someone.
Human nature is so layered and complex.