The white lilies - Luis de Góngora y Argote

The white lilies, children of the Sun,
That Spring grants us from age to age,
For whom on the banks of the Tagus
Gold’s the cradle, pearls the nourishment;
The fresh roses, the wind ambitiously
Solicits with its flattering breeze,
Like one who hopes for noble petals
From some leaf or other, with lascivious breath;
Fall to your lovely feet, as all their beauty
So must. What might the hand that bears
Those flowers not do, if the foot does so,
Since your very splendour conquers snow,
Conquers the light of dawn, and since
In vain, for you, they breathe their scent?

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Luis de Góngora y Argote (1561 - 1627) Spain
Translated by A. S. Kline
Source: Poetry in Translation