Poems of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer LXIV
Translated from the Spanish by Mason Carnes
How beautiful it is to see the day
Arising, crowned with fire, the waves that play,–—
Each one a gleaming sprite,–—
The air enkindled by the kiss of light!
Late in an autumn day, when rain-drops cloy
The flowers, how sweet and beautiful the joy
To have your being fed
Upon their perfume till it’s surfeited!
Upon a winter’s eve, when silently
The snow-flakes fall, how beautiful to see
The reddish tongues of great
And massive flames timidly palpitate!
When softly drowsiness begins to creep
Upon you, oh, how sweet it is to sleep!
How good to drink and stuff
Ourselves! A pity ’tis, ’tis not enough!
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.