Rhyme XXV
At night when you are wrapped
in the tulle wings of sleep
and your resting eyelashes
are like arcs of ebony,
to hear the beating
of your unquiet heart
and rest your sleeping
head upon my breast,
I would give, my darling,
everything that I possess,
light, air
and thought!
When your eyes are fixed
on an invisible object
and your lips shine
with the reflection of a smile,
to read from your brow
the silent thought
that passes like a cloud above
the wide mirror of the sea,
I would give, my darling,
everything that I possess,
fame, gold,
glory, invention!
When your tongue thickens
and your breath quickens
and your cheeks mantle with blushes
and you half-close your dark eyes,
to see between your eyelashes
the glowing spark that rises
from the volcano of your desire
shine with humid fire,
I would give, my darling,
everything I hope for,
faith, spirit,
heaven and earth.
Rhyme LIII
They will return, the dark swallows,
to build their nests on your balcony
and once again they will call playfully
at your window pane with their wings.
But those that slowed when flying
to contemplate your beauty and my bliss,
those that learnt our names…
those … will not return!
It will return, the lush woodbine,
to climb the walls of your garden,
and again, yet more beautiful flowers
will open in the evening.
But those flowers on which the dew
settled, those whose drops
we saw tremble and fall like the day’s tears…
those …will not return.
They will return, the ardent words of love,
to ring in your ear;
your heart will perhaps wake
from its profound sleep.
But silent and wrapped and kneeling,
as when one worships God at his altar, …
as I have worshipped you…; be in no doubt,
thus…they will not love you!
Rima XXV
Cuando en la noche te envuelven
las alas de tul del sueño
y tus tendidas pestañas
semejan arcos de ébano,
por escuchar los latidos
de tu corazón inquieto
y reclinar tu dormida
cabeza sobre mi pecho,
diera, alma mía,
cuanto posea:
¡la luz, el aire
y el pensamiento!
Cuando se clavan tus ojos
en un invisible objeto
y tus labios ilumina
de una sonrisa el reflejo,
por leer sobre tu frente
el callado pensamiento
que pasa como la nube
del mar sobre el ancho espejo,
diera, alma mía,
cuanto deseo:
¡la fama, el oro,
la gloria, el genio!
Cuando enmudece tu lengua
y se apresura tu aliento
y tus mejillas se encienden
y entornas tus ojos negros,
por ver entre sus pestañas
brillar con húmedo fuego
la ardiente chispa que brota
del volcán de los deseos,
diera, alma mía,
por cuanto espero,
la fe, el espíritu,
la tierra, el cielo.
Rima LIII
Volverán las oscuras golondrinas
en tu balcón sus nidos a colgar,
y otra vez con el ala a sus cristales
jugando llamarán.
Pero aquellas que el vuelo refrenaban
tu hermosura y mi dicha a contemplar,
aquellas que aprendieron nuestros nombres…
¡esas… no volverán!
Volverán las tupidas madreselvas
de tu jardín las tapias a escalar,
y otra vez a la tarde aún más hermosas
sus flores se abrirán.
Pero aquellas, cuajadas de rocío
cuyas gotas mirábamos temblar
y caer como lágrimas del día…
¡esas… no volverán!
Volverán del amor en tus oídos
las palabras ardientes a sonar;
tu corazón de su profundo sueño
tal vez despertará.
Pero mudo y absorto y de rodillas
como se adora a Dios ante su altar, …
como yo te he querido…; desengáñate,
¡así… no te querrán!
Glenn Hubbard began writing his own poems in 2013. Having lived in Madrid since 1987, he finally feels sufficiently confident to translate Spanish poets into English. He has recently also translated poems by Machado and Lorca
Spanish Romantic poet and writer, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer died young from tuberculosis, the ‘romantic illness ‘ with most of his work still unpublished. His legend The White Roe Deer is particularly well known and his poems (rimas) and legends are normally published together as Rimas y leyenda.