translated by Aaron Zaritzky

          1

I dropped a coin
Into the muddy—lake—
And I felt poorer—
But more immersed
In the Water Mansion
With no return—

          2

I saved in the sand the footprints
I did not make to find you
And the Sea—Envious monster—
Cannot wash them away—
So I set out for You
When I blindly pass through
The Silver Hall of Insomnia

          3

Thought unknowingly wanders
Toward the Highest Idea—
Though on the path—of thyme and stars—
It again mistakes
The Idea for Bitterness

                                    (1861)


Emily Dickinson

          1

Dejé caer la Moneda
en el Lago—tan turbio—
y me sentí más pobre—
pero más sumergida
en la Mansión del Agua que no vuelve—

          2

Tengo guardados en la arena
los pasos que no di para buscarte
y el Mar—monstruo de Celos—
no consigue borrarlos—
Por eso me encamino a Ti
cuando recorro a ciegas
la Galería de Plata del Insomnio—

          3

El Pensamiento vaga sin saberlo
hacia la Idea más Alta—
Aunque en su camino—de tomillo y de estrellas—
la vuelva a confundir con la Amargura—

                                     (1861)

Felipe Benitez Reyes, "Emily Dickinson / Emily Dickinson" from Probable Lives. Copyright © 1995. Translation copyright © 2006 by Aaron Zaritzky. Used by permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd., www.boaeditions.org.