Poem o' the Day

A taste of Spain today, with two delights from Federico Garcia Lorca, translated by A.S. Kline.

Ballad of the Small Plaza

Singing of children
in the night silence:
Light of the stream, and
calm of the fountain!

THE CHILDREN
What does your heart hold,
divine in its gladness?

MYSELF
A peal from the belltower,
lost in the dimness.

THE CHILDREN
You leave us singing
in the small plaza.
Light of the stream, and
calm of the fountain!
What do you hold in
your hands of springtime?

MYSELF
A rose of blood, and
a lily of whiteness.

THE CHILDREN
Dip them in water
of the song of the ages.
Light of the stream, and
calm of the fountain!
What does your tongue feel,
scarlet and thirsting?

MYSELF
A taste of the bones
of my giant forehead.

THE CHILDREN
Drink the still water
of the song of the ages.
Light of the stream, and
calm of the fountain!
Why do you roam far
from the small plaza?

MYSELF
I go to find Mages
and find princesses.

THE CHILDREN
Who showed you the road there,
the road of the poets?

MYSELF
The fount and the stream of
the song of the ages.

THE CHILDREN
Do you go far from
the earth and the ocean?

MYSELF
It’s filled with light, is
my heart of silk, and
with bells that are lost,
with bees and with lilies,
and I will go far off,
behind those hills there,
close to the starlight,
to ask of the Christ there
Lord, to return me
my child’s soul, ancient,
ripened with legends,
with a cap of feathers,
and a sword of wood.

THE CHILDREN
You leave us singing
in the small plaza.
Light of the stream, and
calm of the fountain!
Enormous pupils
of the parched palm fronds
hurt by the wind, they
weep their dead leaves.


The Ballad of the Salt-Water

The sea
smiles far-off.
Spume-teeth,
sky-lips.

‘What do you sell, troubled child,
child with naked breasts?’

‘Sir, I sell
salt-waters of the sea.’

‘What do you carry, dark child,
mingled with your blood?’

‘Sir, I carry
salt-waters of the sea.’

‘These tears of brine
where do they come from, mother?’

‘Sir, I cry
salt-waters of the sea.’

‘Heart, this deep bitterness,
where does it rise from?’

‘So bitter, the salt-waters
of the sea!’

The sea
smiles far-off.
Spume-teeth.
Sky-lips.