I

A sincere man am I

From the land where palm trees grow,

And I want before I die

My soul’s verses to bestow.

I’m a traveler to all parts,

And a newcomer to none;

I am art among the arts,

With the mountains I am one.

I know the strange names of willows,

And can tell flowers with skill:

I know of lies that can kill,

And I know of sublime sorrows.

I have seen through dead of night

Upon my head softly fall,

Rays formed of the purest light

From beauty celestial.

I have seen wings that were surging

From beautiful women’s shoulders,

And seen butterflies emerging

From the refuse heap that molders.

I have known a man to live

With a dagger at his side,

And never once the name give

Of she by whose hand he died.

Rápida, como un reflejo,

Dos veces vi el alma, dos:

Cuando murió el pobre viejo,

Cuando ella me dijo adiós.

Temblé una vez –en la reja,

A la entrada de la viña,–

Cuando la bárbara abeja

Picó en la frente a mi niña.

Gocé una vez, de tal suerte

Que gocé cual nunca: –cuando

La sentencia de mi muerte

Leyó el alcalde llorando.

Oigo un suspiro, a través

De las tierras y la mar,

Y no es un suspiro, –es

Que mi hijo va a despertar.

Si dicen que del joyero

Tome la joya mejor,

Tomo a un amigo sincero

Y pongo a un lado el amor.

Yo he visto al águila herida

Volar al azul sereno,

Y morir en su guarida

La víbora del veneno.

Yo sé bien que cuando el mundo

Cede, lívido, al descanso,

Sobre el silencio profundo

Murmura el arroyo manso.

Twice, for an instant, did I

My soul’s reflection descried,

Twice: when my poor father died,

And when she bade me goodbye.

I trembled once, when I flung

The vineyard gate, and to my dread,

The dastard hornet had stung

My little girl on the forehead.

Such great luck to me once came

As no man would dare to envy,

When in tears my jailer read me

The death warrant with my name.

I hear a sigh across the earth,

I hear a sigh over the deep:

It is no sigh reaching my hearth,

But my son waking from sleep.

If they say I have obtained

The pick of the jeweler’s trove,

A good friend is all I’ve gained,

And I have put aside love.

I have seen an eagle gliding,

Though wounded, across the skies;

I know the cubby where lies

The snake of its venom dying.

I know that the world is weak

And must soon fall to the ground,

And, then, midst the quiet profound

The gentle brook will speak.

Yo he puesto la mano osada,

De horror y júbilo yerta,

Sobre la estrella apagada

Que cayó frente a mi puerta.

Oculto en mi pecho bravo

La pena que me lo hiere:

El hijo de un pueblo esclavo

Vive por él, calla y muere.

Todo es hermoso y constante,

Todo es música y razón,

Y todo, como el diamante,

Antes que luz es carbón.

Yo sé que el necio se entierra

Con gran lujo y con gran llanto,–

Y que no hay fruta en la tierra

Como la del camposanto.

Callo, y entiendo, y me quito

La pompa del rimador:

Cuelgo de un árbol marchito

Mi muceta de doctor.

While trembling with joy and dread,

I have touched with hand so bold

A once-bright star that fell dead

From heaven at my threshold.

I have hid in my brave heart

The most terrible of pains,

The son of a land in chains

Lives for it and dies apart.

All is beautiful and right,

All is as music and reason;

And as diamonds ‘ere their season,

All is coal before it’s light.

I know when fools are laid to rest

Honor and tears will abound,

And that of all fruits, the best

Is left to rot in holy ground.

Without a word, I’ve understood

And put aside the pompous muse;

From a withered branch, I choose

To hang my doctoral hood.