"Mass

   At the end of the battle,
and the combatant dead, a man came toward him
and said: 'Don't die; I love you so much!'
But the corpse, alas! kept on dying.

   Two approached him and repeated:
'Don't leave us! Be brave! Return to life!'
But the corpse, alas! kept on dying.

Twenty, a hundred, a thousand, five hundred thousand, came up to him,
crying out, 'So much love and no power against death!'
But the corpse, alas! kept on dying.

   Millions of persons surrounded him,
with a common plea: 'Do not leave us, brother!'
But the corpse, alas! kept on dying.

   Then, all the inhabitants of the earth
surrounded him; the corpse looked at them sadly, moved;
he sat up slowly,
embraced the first man; started to walk..."

--Vallejo (tr Eshleman)


"In concert halls and ballrooms, in plazas and at beach parties, people across the globe hailed Barack Obama’s election as a stroke for racial equality and voiced hopes his presidency would herald a balanced, less confrontational America."