READIN

🦋 We change the language by what we say.

Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino, y nada más;
caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace camino,
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino,
sino estelas en la mar.

Wanderer, these your steps
Make up the path, and nothing more;
Wanderer, there is no path:
You make the path by walking.
By walking you make the path,
And turning back your gaze you see
The wilderness you'll never cross again.
Wanderer, there is no path:
Just wake upon the sea.

Antonio Machado:
"Proverbios y cantares" #29

posted afternoon of Sunday, July 15th, 2012
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también de Machado:

Yo voy soñando caminos
de la tarde. ¡Las colinas
doradas, los verdes pinos,
las polvorientas encinas!…
¿Adónde el camino irá?
Yo voy cantando, viajero
a lo largo del sendero…
-la tarde cayendo está-.
“En el corazón tenía
la espina de una pasión;
“logré arrancármela un día:
“ya no siento el corazón”.

Y todo el campo un momento
se queda, mudo y sombrío,
meditando. Suena el viento
en los álamos del río.

La tarde más se oscurece;
y el camino que serpea
y débilmente blanquea
se enturbia y desaparece.

Mi cantar vuelve a plañir:
“Aguda espina dorada,
quién te pudiera sentir
en el corazón clavada”.

posted evening of September 29th, 2013 by Jeremy

Note "The wilderness you'll never cross again" is a mistranslation, I must have read "senda" as "selva" -- this line should be "The trail you'll never tread upon again"

posted morning of October 5th, 2013 by Jeremy

A couple of derivative verses

posted morning of October 5th, 2013 by Jeremy

Much more about this poem here

posted morning of October 6th, 2013 by Jeremy

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