Poem for a Cold Tuesday

Feb

22
2011

      Lorca, Poetry, Uncategorized       1    

Federico Garcia Lorca en su adolescencia, una réplica del Espinario. Aguijarro (Antonio Guijarro Morales) representa a Federico García Lorca en su adolescencia, todavía sin abandonar del todo el útero materno, tras extraer de la planta de su pie izquierdo una de las primeras espinas que la vida le deparó.

Con un lirio en la mano
te dejo.
¡Amor de mi noche!
Y viudita de mi astro
te encuentro.
¡Domador de sombrías mariposas!
Sigo por mi camino.
Al cabo de mil años me verás.
¡Amor de mi noche!
Por la vereda azul,
domador de sombrías estrellas
seguiré mi camino.
Hasta que el Universo
quepa en mi corazón.

– Federico García Lorca (1898-1936)

English translation (of which there is a very beautiful setting by Eric Whitacre) after the jump:

With a lily in your hand
I leave you, o my night love!
Little widow of my single star
I find you.
Tamer of dark butterflies!
I keep along my way.
After a thousand years have gone
you’ll see me, o, my night love!
By the blue footpath,
tamer of dark stars,
I’ll make my way.
Until the universe can fit inside my heart.

  • http://www.vincepeterson.com Vince Peterson

    I love that setting of “With a Lily in your hand” by Whitacre. In fact I think he’s really hit or miss most of the time, and that is one of the handful of pieces that are “hit” for me as a choral conductor / composer hybrid. The other really good one is “Cloudburst”. I assume you’ve heard that one? Lorca is fabulous. Try this one on for size:

    Let’s go from house to house
    we’ll come to where the seahorse graze.
    It’s not the sky, it’s solid earth,
    with so many crickets that sing,
    with grasses that wave,
    with clouds that lift,
    with slings shooting stones,
    and swordlike wind.
    I WANT TO BE A BOY!

    Best,
    Vince