Translating poetry is never a good idea, but I tried it anyway. If any of you can speak/read Spanish, I hope you’ll read the original Spanish version below. It’s one of my faves. The english version, not so much.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Perhaps It Never Was
If you wish to remember me some day,
You can.
Who am I to impede that
You do?
I know the memories are forever
Imprinted.
And to try to erase them would be
In vain.
I know this love has remained
Engraved.
In a collection of love stories
Ours will stay.
But don’t waste time reliving
The past.
My heart has strayed, this love
did not last.
If roses represented our love,
They have died.
If the stars used to shine for us,
They have dimmed.
If the world used to turn for us,
Now it’s stuck.
If the birds used to sing of love,
They have stopped.
Don’t think of anything
That perhaps never was.
Do not search in vain
For pieces of yesterday.
Never once did I promise
That I would stay.
It’s best to forget,
And to part ways.
The memories start to fade,
Drowning in the void.
Nothing is left,
Nothing mine and nothing yours.
Perhaps this never happened,
Perhaps it never was.
Let everything fade
With one last goodbye…
© Lillian Figueroa
August 2, 2005
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Quizás Nunca Fue
Si un día quieres recordarme,
Puedes.
No soy quien para impedir
Que lo hagas.
Sé que los recuerdos se han quedado
Tatuados.
E intentar borrarlos sería
En vano.
Sé que ese amor se ha quedado
Marcado.
En los libros de amor se ha quedado
Grabado.
Pero no te empeñes en revivir
El pasado.
Ya no te quiero, ya
No te amo.
Si las flores representan el amor,
Se han muerto.
Si las estrellas nos iluminaron, ya,
Se han quemado.
Si el mundo giraba para los dos,
Se ha estancado.
Si las aves cantaban de amor,
Ya han cesado.
No pienses en nada
Que quizás nunca fue.
No busques inútilmente
Lo que existía ayer.
Nunca prometí
Que me iba a quedar.
Es mejor seguir,
Es mejor olvidar.
Se esfuman los recuerdos,
Se ahogan en el vacío.
Ya nada queda,
Nada es tuyo, nada es mío.
Quizás nunca fue,
Ya…nada pasó.
Deja que todo se consuma
En un adiós…
© Lillian Figueroa
2 de Agosto, 2005
I wish I wrote this :). Very nice, can’t read Spanish (shame) but I’m sure it’s just as beautiful.
Thanks sweetie! It flows better in spanish, for sure.
Appreciate your kind words! I felt like I had to share something, my last good poem was Thread. I wrote that a year ago. So sad. Not that I’m promoting it or anything but…
http://dontquotelily.com/2013/04/04/thread/
Take care!
I miss your poems! Even though I could only read the translated English version, I still appreciate the story it tells. 🙂 How’s the writer’s block? Is it still there or have you effectively pushed it away? 😉
Thanks! Meh, my writer’s block is still very much there. Hence this not-so-great translation of a poem from…2005! Lol. So sad. 😦
Lily, este poema me ENCANTA! Que precioso y poderoso a la misma vez. WOW. Que bueno que decidiste compartirlo! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Great job!!
Muchas gracias, Maria! Me alegra que por lo menos alguien puede leerlo en español, como lo escribí originalmente. Thank you thank you! 🙂
So what happened in 2005? Am I not suppose to ask stuff like that?
Haha. Nothing happened back then. Just a random poem. Yes, it’s weird to post something I wrote so long ago. But…I’m weird, so what’d you expect? 😉
Beautiful poem, Lily! 😀
Aw, thanks Dianne. 😀