Friday, July 01, 2005

Further on my man Javier Fernando del Camarón y Gamba. I hadn't bothered to track down any of his work previously, but I found this in Fülg's Encyclopedia of Early Spanish Poets (I nearly used "i" instead of "em" there. How embarrassing). Sadly, the original Castilian is not given (not that it would do me any good. I have such Spanish as may be learned in a kitchen, and my profit on't is, I know how to curse). This is his own work, not a translation of a Greek.
The secret of love, how can it be contained
Like the unicorn it bursts all confinements.
But the heart is held back from what it seeks,
Confined into the space of a fist,
Unable to obtain its desire.
It tosses it head in pride, like thunder,
But drags its tail in the dust, brought low.
Beloved gazelle, more than a lion,
You may slay me out of hand,
I stretch my neck out to the knife.
Very nice. There are clearly influences from the early Hebrew poets of Spain.