Under the manycoloured showcase of the sky
it passes in its slow flight,
a heron, more tranquil than the evenmg.
Pointing upward,
someone says: ‘Up there, beneath that cloud.’
The bird of peace points northward
its straightlined flight:
it seems to fly upon a polished lake:
while I remain absorbed, watching,
it flies, flies, flies,
as though it were rowing on a lake of roses;
far off now, it becomes slender, moves sidewise,
two flexible lines that fade away,
sink slowly: the bird of peace
points its flight northward;
they sink lower: the dark lines
are two faint streaks of white in the blue of the hills;
lower and lower: the two faint streaks of white
are a white dot that flutters
upon the branches of the distant trees.
They passed through the peaceful city:
a tranquil evening, and a heron
more tranquil than the evenmg.
Rafael Estrada (1901 - 1934) Costa Rica
Translated by Donald Devenish Walsh
Source: Anthology of Contemporary Latin-American Poetry, edited by Dudley Fitts, New Directions, 1942 [Intrent Archive]
it passes in its slow flight,
a heron, more tranquil than the evenmg.
Pointing upward,
someone says: ‘Up there, beneath that cloud.’
The bird of peace points northward
its straightlined flight:
it seems to fly upon a polished lake:
while I remain absorbed, watching,
it flies, flies, flies,
as though it were rowing on a lake of roses;
far off now, it becomes slender, moves sidewise,
two flexible lines that fade away,
sink slowly: the bird of peace
points its flight northward;
they sink lower: the dark lines
are two faint streaks of white in the blue of the hills;
lower and lower: the two faint streaks of white
are a white dot that flutters
upon the branches of the distant trees.
They passed through the peaceful city:
a tranquil evening, and a heron
more tranquil than the evenmg.
Rafael Estrada (1901 - 1934) Costa Rica
Translated by Donald Devenish Walsh
Source: Anthology of Contemporary Latin-American Poetry, edited by Dudley Fitts, New Directions, 1942 [Intrent Archive]
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