Neruda Double Stuff

Oh Earth, Wait for Me by Pablo Neruda
Turn me oh sun
towards my native destiny,
rain from the ancient forest,
return to me the fragrance and the swords
that fall from the sky,
the solitary peace of field and rock,
the moisture at the margins of the river,
the scent of the larch,
the wind, alive like a heart
beating among the remote flock
of the great araucaria.

Earth, return to me your pure gifts
the towers of silence that rose
from the solemnity of their roots:
I want to return to being what I have not been,
learn to return from such depths
that amongst all the things of nature
I could live or not live: no matter
to be one more stone, the dark stone,
the pure stone that is carried by the river.

O Tierra, Espérame
Vuélmeme oh sol
a mi destino agreste,
lluvia del viejo bosque,
devuélveme el aroma y las espadas
que caían del cielo,
la solitaria paz de pasto y piedra,
la humedad de las márgenes del río,
el olor del alerce,
el viento vivo como un corazón
latiendo entre la huraña muchedumbre
de la gran araucaria.

Tierra, devuélveme tus dones puros,
las torres del silencio que subieron
de la solemnidad de sus raíces:
quiero volver a ser lo que no he sido,
aprender a volver desde tan hondo
que entre todas las cosas naturales
pueda vivir o no vivir: no importa
ser una piedra más, la piedra oscura,
la piedra pura que se lleva el río.

 

Not growing up in a tradition that made a big deal about Lent, I didn't learn about the "Sundays off" rule until I was an adult and one of my Catholic friends tore open a package of Oreos one Sunday afternoon.  Ah the blessings of Sabbath.  Rest, recreation, and Oreos. 

 

I decided to "take Sundays off" from this blog.  I'll still post a poem on Sundays, one to be read  and enjoyed rather than written aboout and reflected upon. 

 

So here's a little yummy Neruda for your Sunday afternoon.  And since I'm a fan of the Double Stuff Oreos, I offer it in English and its original Spanish.  Enjoy it with a glass of ice cold milk or simply savour it on its own.