Cernuda, Luis

English

University of Montana

CutBank Volume 1 Issue 7 CutBank 7 Article 27 Fall 1976 From What Country translated by John Haines Luis Cernuda Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cutbank  Part of the Creative Writing Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits you. Recommended Citation Cernuda, Luis (1976) "From What Country translated by John Haines," CutBank: Vol. 1 : Iss. 7 , Article 27. Available at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cutbank/vol1/iss7/27 This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in CutBank by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact scholarworks@mso.umt.edu. Luis CernudaFROM WHAT COUNTRYFrom  w hat country  are you,asleep am ong everyday things with their thirsty m ouths, life bitten by dreams,and that grief you bear w ithout shame dow n the avenue of m onum entswhere forgotten gods and  goddesseslift arms tha t  are not there and looks of marble.The old w om an was spinning in her garden of ashes;mud walls, quagmires, howls at dusk,ivies, and cambrics, stiffened there,as they watched those flying wheelstoward which the clay raised a th rea ten ing  fist.The country is a name;nothing will change if you, bo rn  just now, come to the north , to the south, to the mist, to the lights; your destiny will be to listen to what the shadows leaning over your crib have to say.One hand will give you the power o f smiling, ano ther will give you spiteful tears, ano ther the knife of experience,ano ther the desire tha t  turns inward, form ing the pool of wasted things under your life,where snakes, water-lillies, insects, guilty thoughts ,  b reak the surface, corrupting your lips, the purest th ing you have.Then you w on’t be able to kiss with innocence,nor give life to the realities th a t  cry ou t to you with tireless tongue.Stop, stop, you who are ragged with stars,Die while you still have time.Translated by John Haines74

From What Country translated by John Haines

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From What Country translated by John Haines

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