Are you leaving for the countryside, my dear friend!
What gift can I offer you upon your departure…?
Only a sad and tender farewell
Is all my love can give you, sweet María!
You go, bearing my soul within your breast,
You go, leaving sorrow in my heart,
You go, abandoning me to the chaos I endure,
You go, bearing my passion still alive!
I bid you farewell on this sorrowful day,
A farewell that devours my chest with pain;
I wish I could cease to exist in this hour
That steals from me the sight of María.
Will you reach the garden of your meadow
And gladly open its trellis,
Gathering lovely flowers each day
Without sending me a cypress or a willow, at least?
No, María! Remember how Pastora,
When she still dwelt in the countryside,
Sang to your enchanting memory
In tune with the sparrow’s trilling notes.
My voice, mingled with sighs for your absence,
Blended in sweet harmony with the blackbird’s song;
Do the same, I beg you, out of mercy,
And I will cherish your noble kindness.
I would fly into your arms without delay—
Ah, to see you in your heavenly dwelling,
And, casting off this face of sadness,
Place my heart gently in your hands.
Meanwhile, send your sigh
To that sad place where I once lived,
Where with you, my friend, I used to dream,
And to see you again—ah! I lose my reason.
Pastora Alomía de Guerrero [nee Pastora Alomía Delgado] (1835 – 1919) Ecuador
Translated by Richard Gabela
Source: Ecuadoran Literature
What gift can I offer you upon your departure…?
Only a sad and tender farewell
Is all my love can give you, sweet María!
You go, bearing my soul within your breast,
You go, leaving sorrow in my heart,
You go, abandoning me to the chaos I endure,
You go, bearing my passion still alive!
I bid you farewell on this sorrowful day,
A farewell that devours my chest with pain;
I wish I could cease to exist in this hour
That steals from me the sight of María.
Will you reach the garden of your meadow
And gladly open its trellis,
Gathering lovely flowers each day
Without sending me a cypress or a willow, at least?
No, María! Remember how Pastora,
When she still dwelt in the countryside,
Sang to your enchanting memory
In tune with the sparrow’s trilling notes.
My voice, mingled with sighs for your absence,
Blended in sweet harmony with the blackbird’s song;
Do the same, I beg you, out of mercy,
And I will cherish your noble kindness.
I would fly into your arms without delay—
Ah, to see you in your heavenly dwelling,
And, casting off this face of sadness,
Place my heart gently in your hands.
Meanwhile, send your sigh
To that sad place where I once lived,
Where with you, my friend, I used to dream,
And to see you again—ah! I lose my reason.
Pastora Alomía de Guerrero [nee Pastora Alomía Delgado] (1835 – 1919) Ecuador
Translated by Richard Gabela
Source: Ecuadoran Literature
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