Venice masks

Tuesday, 13 January 2026

Blonde - Andrés Bello

Do you know, blonde, what favor I request
When I cover the altars with offerings?
Not rich furnishings, not superb lands,
Neither a table that flatters the appetite.

At the edge of Aragua I want a plot
To supply me with simple pleasures,
And close to my rustic home
A brook that runs among the rocks.

To feel good around the summery warmth,
I also want my plot to have a grove,
Where the proud coconut and the willow can grow.

I'll be happy if in this refuge I die;
And, upon exhaling my fugitive breath,
I stamp on your lips my last goodbye!

Andrés Bello (1781-1865) Venezuela
Translated by José Wan Díaz
Source: All Poetry

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