Yo no sé cómo saltar (I Don’t Know How to Leap) by Juan Ramón Jiménez
Poem by Juan Ramón Jiménez (Estío, 11)
Reading and video by sonolopez (Javier López Clemente)
Here’s the poem, which I think should be in the public domain by now, together with my translation (feel free to offer corrections in the comments).
| Yo no sé cómo saltar desde la orilla de hoy a la orilla de mañana. El río se lleva, mientras, Miro al oriente, al poniente, …Y no sé como saltar |
I don’t know how to leap from the brink of today to the brink of tomorrow. Meanwhile the current bears Look to the east, the west, …And I don’t know how to leap |
I imagine Jiménez is rolling at his grave at the video’s use of the soundtrack from The Matrix — he was pretty uptight, I hear — but it works for me.
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Only just catching up here Dave. I like this, but I’m wondering why you chose to translate ‘orilla’ (shore, brink, edge…) as ‘the crest of the wave’. Seems unlike you to add so much that’s not there in the original.
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Because my mind took a holiday, I think. (Geez, I even translated a poem called “La Orilla” once.) Thanks.
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Thanks for “brink” – I think that’s just about the only word that combines literal and figurative meanings to the degree required here, don’t you think?
As a morning person for who the afternoon is a dead time, I really identify with this poem!
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Gee, that was a gratifyingly quick reaction! Yes, I think brink works well here, though I can’t say I had thought that through before commenting. I love the poem too (didn’t know it before). It reminds me of a friend many years ago who was much wont to mention how he felt sad and empty at dusk every day, ‘because I am a poet’ (he was young enough for such pretentiousness to be forgivable, I guess).
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Ha! Usually by dusk I’m fine – it’s early to mid-afternoon when I wilt and things seem pointless. The cure (as a Spanish poet would surely know) is a good, long siesta.
Speaking of which…