Shadows, Nothing More - José María Contursi

I want to slowly open my veins,
to shed every drop of my blood at your feet…
so I can prove to you
that I could not love you more
and then…so I can die.
Yet still your blue eyes–
as blue as the sky and the sea!–
remain blind to me,
they can’t see me as I am,
lost in my loneliness!

Shadows, nothing more!
Caressing my hands…
Shadows, nothing more!
as my voice trembles…
I could have been happy
but I go through life dying
and through my tears I am living out
the most horrific passages
of this endless drama…
Shadows, nothing more!
Between your life and mine…
Shadows, nothing more!
between your love and mine…

You came into my tedious life so briefly,
your voice and your hands were so warm.
Like the flash of a firefly
your light arrived
to banish the shadow hanging over me…
And like a wandering spirit I began to tremble
without the blue of your oceanic eyes,
which have become blind to me
they can’t see me as I am,
lost in my loneliness!

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José María Contursi (1911 - 1972) Argentina
Translated by Derrick Del Pilar
Source: Poesía de gotán: The Poetry of the Tango