Sunday Snippet

I Am Not I

I am this one
Walking beside me whom I do not see,
Whom at times I manage to visit,
And at other times I forget.
The one who renains silent when I talk,
The one who forgives, sweet, when I hate,
The one who takes a walk when I am indoors,
Th e one who will remain standing when I die.

YO NO SOY YO

Soy este
que va a mi lado sin yo verlo;
que, a veces, voy a ver,
y que, a veces, olvido.
El que calla, sereno, cuando hablo,
el que perdona, dulce, cuando odio,
el que pasea por donde no estoy,
el que quedará en pié cuando yo muera.

by Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881 - 1958)

I found the translation ... and then I found the original, in Spanish, which I prefer. I thought that I would share it with you this Sunday - and a little about the poet, which is taken from 'Poem of the Day' edited by Nicholas Albery:

Jiménez was born in Moguer, Huelva, the setting for his story of the young poet and his donkey, (Platero y Yo). Giving up law, he moved to Madrid. When Civil War started he remained in the capital for a time, caring for the wounded and collecting children from the ruined streets.
He moved to Havana and then to Florida, losing many of his manuscripts in the process. Influenced by Verlaine, in his youth, he in turn influenced Lorca and other Spanish poets.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, the year before his death.

A little more than a snippet ... but worth it.