Howling amidst lightning,
lost in the storm
of this endless night,
I don’t want your bolts
to blind me to these horrors,
because I need light
in order to go on…
What I learned at your hand—
shouldn’t it help me lead my life?
I feel that my faith is wavering,
that evil people lead,
oh Lord! better lives than me…
If life itself is Hell
and good men live in tears,
what good does he
who fights in your name,
clean and pure—what for?
If today infamy leads the way
and love kills in your name,
oh Lord! everything you kiss…
Then to follow you is to give ground
and to love you, to succumb to evil.
As for me, I don’t want to abandon you
just show me one single time
when a traitor does not go unpunished,
oh Lord! Then I’ll kiss you…
Show me a single flower
that has blossomed
out of effort to follow you,
oh Lord! so that I do not hate
this world that spurns me
because I refuse to become a thief…
And then, on my knees,
bloodied on the cobblestones,
I will die for you, joyous God!
Enrique Santos Discépolo (1901 - 1951) Argentina
Translated by Derrick Del Pillar
Source: The Poetry of the Tango
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