Pablo Neruda: Love Poem XVI (From Spanish)

Love Poem XVI
By Pablo Neruda
Translated by A.Z. Foreman
Click to hear me recite the Spanish

You in my twilight sky are like a cloud,
Your color and your shape are as I love them
You are mine, you are mine, dear sweet-lipped woman.
My endless dreams live on within your life.

My soul's lamp pours its dyes upon your feet
Sweeter on your lips is my bittered wine:
Oh harvester who reaps my evensong,
My solitary dreams so feel you mine!

You're mine, you're mine, I shout it to the evening
breeze, and the wind is off with my widowed voice.
Huntress of my eyes' depths, your plundering
Holds your nocturnal glance back, water-like.

You are caught in my music's net, my dear
love, and my music's nets are heaven-wide.
My soul's born on the shore of your mourning eyes.
And in your mourning eyes begins the land of dreams.


The Original:


Poema de Amor VI
Pablo Neruda

En mi cielo a crepúsculo eres como una nube
y tu color y forma son como yo los quiero.
Eres mía, eres mía, mujer de labios dulces
y viven en tu vida mis infinitos sueños.

La lámpara de mi alma te sonrosa los pies,
el agrio vino mío es más dulce en tus labios:
oh segadora de mi canción de atardecer,
cómo te sienten mía mis sueños solitarios!

Eres mía, eres mía, voy gritando en la brisa
de la tarde, y el viento arrastra mi voz viuda.
Cazadora del fondo de mis ojos, tu robo
estanca como el agua tu mirada nocturna.

En la red de mi música estás presa, amor mío,
y mis redes de música son anchas como el cielo.
Mi alma nace a la orilla de tus ojos de luto.
En tus ojos de luto comienza el país del sueño.

5 comments:

  1. That is very beautiful.

    I'm releasing love sonnets I have created on a weekly basis with my new blog.

    Feel free to check it out.

    http://weeklylovesonnets.blogspot.com/

    -Jacob

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  2. This would be Poema XVI?

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  3. plablo
    Soy una persona fasinante de l;os poemas porque esde pequeno me gustava leer mucho los libros de Don Pablo Neruda ya que son muy fasinantes he ilustrativos para los jovenes y adultos ,.muy marilloso para los Enamorados  

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  4. only thing is - this is poem 16 not poem 4. Check it out on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWeaxzcq2Ng

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  5. You render the Spanish very beautifully into English.


    You mention this question a bit in your FAQ, but I was wondering why you chose to insert 'dear' in the third line of the poem. I do translations myself, so I'm always curious about other people's motivations behind specific choices like these.

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