Poems of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, XVI

Translated from the Spanish by Mason Carnes

If, when the bell-flow’rs on your balcony
              All trembling line,
You think it is the sighing, murmuring wind
              That passes by,
Know that, hidden among the green leaves there,
              For you I sigh.

If, when behind you echoing on your ear
              Vague murmurs fall,
You think some far-off voice has called you, know
              That from the pall
Of evening shadows that surround you, love,
              To you I call.

If in the dead of night your timorous heart
              Beats fast, while near
Your lips you feel a passionate, burning breath,
              Ah! have no fear.
Know that, although invisible, I breathe
              Beside you, dear.

Credit

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.