Monday, October 13, 2008

Translation for "Amor Eterno"

The sun will be able to become cloudy
eternally;
The sea will be able to be dried at a
moment;
The Earth axis will be able to be broken Like
a weak crystal.
Everything will happen!
The death will be able
to cover to me with its funeral crespón;
but never in me the flame of your love will
be able to go out

Gustavo Adolfo Becquer

1 comment:

Corey Frost said...

Thanks for this, Tyrike. This is obviously a translation of the meaning, as opposed to a translation of the sounds (as I had suggested) but that's okay. It seems to be a very literal translation, in that you are using the syntax of Spanish instead of the syntax of English, which creates some odd-sounding lines. "Never in me the flame of your love will be able to go out" is obviously not something you would say in natural English, but it's an interesting phrase, so I think this is successful in some ways.

Here is the original, by the way, for comparison:

Podrá nublarse el sol eternamente;
Podrá secarse en un instante el mar;
Podrá romperse el eje de la tierra
Como un débil cristal.
¡todo sucederá! Podrá la muerte
Cubrirme con su fúnebre crespón;
Pero jamás en mí podrá apagarse
La llama de tu amor.

And here's my own attempt at a homophonic translation -- that is, trying to reproduce the sounds only, not the meaning.

A More Turn, Oh!

Poe, draw nubile seals, oh
late urn, amen, tea.
(Poe draws a car seat anon,
instant teal mar.)
Poe, draw rum purses,
a lady latte era.

Come on, Debbie and Crystal.
To do: suicide era!
Poe, draw lamb wear tea,
Cube rear me, counsel fun
In every correspond

Pair o' 'jamas in my Poe:
Draw a peg or seal,
A yammered tumor.