El Sur (J.L.B., trans. E.A.C.)

The South

From one of your patios the
ancient stars were seen,
from the shadowy bank these
dispersed lights were seen,
ones that my ignorance hadn't learned to name
or arrange in constallations,
the circle of water was sensed
in the secret well,
the scent of jasmin and honeysuckle,
the silence of the sleeping bird,
the arch of the hallway, humidity
--perhaps these things are the poem.

El Sur

Desde uno de tus patios haver mirado
las antiguas estrellas,
desde el banco de sombra haber mirado
esas luces dispersas,
que mi ignorancia no ha aprendido a nombrar
ni a ordenar en constelaciones,
haber sentido el círculo del agua
en el screto aljibe,
el olor de jazmín y la madreselva,
el silencio del pajaro dormido,
el arco del zaguán, la humedad
--esas cosas, acaso, son el poema.