SPRINGTIME LONG AGO
(from the Spanish of Luis Cernuda)
Now, in the purple sunset of the evening,
The magnolias coming into flower and wet with dew,
Walking along those streets while the moon
Waxes in the sky will be a waking dream.
Flocks of swallows will make the sky more immense
With their keening, the water in the fountain
Will release earth's voice from out of the depths,
Then the sky and the earth will fall silent.
In the corner of some cloister, alone
With your head in your hand, like a ghost
Returned, you will weep thinking
How beautiful life was, and how pointless.
