ANATOMY LESSON Poem by Juan Manuel Roca

We were given the body
To have our enemy nearer,
To watch him
So he doesn't have time
To hide behind a tree
And wait for us to go by.
We were given the body
So that between him and us
There would be no mined ground
Or ambushes.
We were given it without asking,
Like the prince got the throne,
So he couldn't
Mix wine with poison
Without abdicating his kingdom.
Later was the imposition
Of the habit of going with the body
All over the place,
Of having a bath with it
To avoid the surprise
Of a dagger flash behind the curtain.
We constructed the habit
Of following the body's steps
And setting it the trap of the mirror,
Of not leaving it alone
Not even when it sleeps.
We were given the body
To have our enemy nearer.