I’ve been remiss in blogging for the last couple of weeks. Life happens sometimes I guess.
I don’t speak Spanish very well at all, despite years of trying, but I read it adequately (with a dictionario nearby) and I can hear the sounds of it in my head, even if I can’t duplicate them very well. I suspect that most translations, no matter how good, don’t sound as beautiful as the poem in its original language. And I know that’s true at least for Spanish poetry (and French).
This week, for the first time in these 21 posts, I’m doubling down on a poet, since I’m enjoying so much the Antonio Machado book that I wrote about last time, “Border of a Dream: Selected Poems” (Copper Canyon Press, 2004)
And for you Spanish speakers, I’m posting a poem in both languages.
Anoche cuando dormia
Anoche cuando dormía
soñé ¡bendita ilusión!
que una fontana fluía
dentro de mi corazón.
Dí: ¿por qué acequia escondida,
agua, vienes hasta mí,
manantial de nueva vida
en donde nunca bebí?
Anoche cuando dormía
soñé ¡bendita ilusión!
que una colmena tenía
dentro de mi corazón;
y las doradas abejas
iban fabricando en él,
con las amarguras viejas,
blanca cera y dulce miel.
Anoche cuando dormía
soñé ¡bendita ilusión!
que un ardiente sol lucía
dentro de mi corazón.
Era ardiente porque daba
calores de rojo hogar,
y era sol porque alumbraba
y porque hacía llorar.
Anoche cuando dormía
soñé ¡bendita ilusión!
que era Dios lo que tenía
dentro de mi corazón.
Last Night As I Was Sleeping
Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that a spring was breaking
out in my heart.
I said: Along which secret aqueduct,
Oh water, are you coming to me,
water of a new life
that I have never drunk?
Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.
Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that a fiery sun was giving
light inside my heart.
It was fiery because I felt
warmth as from a hearth,
and sun because it gave light
and brought tears to my eyes.
Last night as I slept,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that it was God I had
here inside my heart.
by Antonio Machado (translation by Robert Bly)