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Gacela: The Morning Market
Under the Arch of Elvira
I want to see you pass by,
to know your name
and make myself cry.
What grey nine o’clock moon
bled your cheeks dry?
Who picks up your spurt
of hot seed in the snow?
What short cactus thorn
kills your crystal glass?
Under the Arch of Elvira
I’m going to see you pass by,
to drink in your eyes
and make myself cry.
Oh, what a raised voice castigates
me in the marketplace!
Oh, how a carnation is tossed aside
into piles of wheat!
Oh, how distant when I’m with you,
how close when you go!
Under the Arch of Elvira
I’m going to see you pass by,
to touch your thighs
and make myself cry.
English translation by Paul Archer of Lorca's Gacela del mercado matutino.
For more poems from this collection, go to El Diván Del Tamarit.
Translator's note:
The Arch of Elvira in Granada was originally a gate in the city's fortifications and is shaped in the Moorish style. It was the gate through which triumphant invaders entered Granada. |
