A Poem

[in_the_blue]

Don't Go Far Off, Not Even for a Day

Don't go far off, not even for a day, because --
because -- I don't know how to say it: a day is long
and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station
when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.

Don't leave me, even for an hour, because
then the little drops of anguish will all run together,
the smoke that roams looking for a home will drift
into me, choking my lost heart.

Oh, may your silhouette never dissolve on the beach;
may your eyelids never flutter into the empty distance.
Don't leave me for a second, my dearest,

because in that moment you'll have gone so far
I'll wander mazily over all the earth, asking,
Will you come back? Will you leave me here, dying?

--Pablo Neruda

Comments

[erised1810.livejournal.com]

aaaaargh why isn'tthis man in our braille library! i'll rumage aroudn in yoru lj one day and gather all the ones you posted here. i'm almsot inclined to actually learn spanish to be able to read the original ones althoug hi've nheard the translators did terrific jobs.
thank you though. thanks.

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

There are lots of different translations for each poem. I tend to go with the ones I like the best based on my own knowledge of Spanish (which is far from extensive). I think some of the translators take the term "poetic license" a bit too far, but hey. They're already doing a better job than I am.