Alfonsina Y El Mar

By the soft sand that the sea licks,
her little footprint never returns.
A path only of sorrow and silence
reached the deep water.
A path only of silent sorrows
reached the foam.

God knows what anguish accompanied you
what old pains silenced your voice,
to lay you down lulled by the song
of the seashells.
The song that sings in the dark depths
of the sea, the seashell.

You leave, Alfonsina, with your solitude,
what new poems did you go to seek?
an ancient voice of wind and salt
cracks your soul and is calling you,
and you go there as in dreams,
asleep, Alfonsina, dressed in sea.

Five little mermaids will carry you
along paths of algae and coral,
and phosphorescent seahorses
will dance around you;
and the inhabitants of the water
will soon play by your side.

Lower the lamp a little more,
let me sleep, nurse peacefully,
and if he calls, don't tell him I'm here,
tell him Alfonsina is not coming back,
and if he calls, never tell him I'm here,
say that I have gone.

You leave, Alfonsina [...]