Poems of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, IX
Translated from the Spanish by Mason Carnes
Balmy breezes softly sighing,
Kiss the light waves as they curl;
And the sun, albeit dying
Kisses warm yon cloud of pearl;
For a kiss the flame is trying
Round the burning log to whirl;
And the willow never misses
Giving back the river’s kisses!
From Poems of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer (Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd., 1891) by Gustavo Adolfo Becquer. Translated from the Spanish by Mason Carnes. This poem is in the public domain.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, a Romantic lyric poet who is regarded as one of the first modern Spanish poets, was born on February 17, 1836, in Seville, Spain. He was one of eight children born to Joaquina Bastida y Vargas and the painter José Domínguez Bécquer, who adopted the Bécquer surname as an acknowledgement of his family’s Flemish ancestors. The elder Bécquer died in 1841, and his wife passed away in 1847.