Poem
José Asunción Silva
FOR THE READER’S EAR
No, that was not passion,It was the vague tenderness
Inspired by a sickly child,
Lang syne, and moon pale nights.
The spirit sings only
When the heart is moved,
When, shaken by love’s power, it trembles,
Broods, draws back, says not a word.
True passion might in fact
Have been…these pages,
That were they written in happier times
Would have appeared as tears, not verses.
© Translation: 2003, Margaret Sayers Peden
From: Casa de poesía Silva
From: Casa de poesía Silva
AL OIDO DEL LECTOR
AL OIDO DEL LECTOR
No fue pasión aquello,Fue una ternura vaga
Lo que inspiran los niños enfermizos,
Los tiempos idos y las noches pálidas.
El espíritu solo
Al conmoverse canta:
Cuando el amor lo agita poderoso
Tiembla, medita, se recoge y calla.
Pasión hubiera sido
En verdad; estas páginas
En otro tiempo más feliz escritas
No tuvieran estrofas sino lágrimas.
© 1945, Casa de Poesía Silva
From: El libro de versos
Publisher: Editorial Horizonte, Bogotá
From: El libro de versos
Publisher: Editorial Horizonte, Bogotá
Poems
Poems of José Asunción Silva
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FOR THE READER’S EAR
No, that was not passion,It was the vague tenderness
Inspired by a sickly child,
Lang syne, and moon pale nights.
The spirit sings only
When the heart is moved,
When, shaken by love’s power, it trembles,
Broods, draws back, says not a word.
True passion might in fact
Have been…these pages,
That were they written in happier times
Would have appeared as tears, not verses.
© 2003, Margaret Sayers Peden
From: Casa de poesía Silva
From: Casa de poesía Silva
FOR THE READER’S EAR
No, that was not passion,It was the vague tenderness
Inspired by a sickly child,
Lang syne, and moon pale nights.
The spirit sings only
When the heart is moved,
When, shaken by love’s power, it trembles,
Broods, draws back, says not a word.
True passion might in fact
Have been…these pages,
That were they written in happier times
Would have appeared as tears, not verses.
© 2003, Margaret Sayers Peden
From: Casa de poesía Silva
From: Casa de poesía Silva
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