Pablo Neruda - Tonight I Can Write

Poema 20, "Puedo escribir los versos m‡s tristes...
"
Puedo escribir los versos m‡s tristes esta noche.
Escribir por ejemplo: "La noche est‡ estrellada, y tiritan,

azules, los astros, a lo lejos".
El viento de la noche gira en el cielo y canta.

Yo la quise, y a veces ella tambiŽn me quiso.
En las noches como Žsta la tuve entre mis brazos.

La besŽ tantas veces bajo el cielo infinito.
Ella me quiso, a veces yo tambiŽn la quer’a

Como no haber amado sus grandes ojos fijos.

Pensar que no la tengo. Sentir que la he perdido.
O’r la noche inmensa, m‡s inmensa sin ella

Y el verso cae al alma como al pasto el roc’o.
QuŽ importa que mi amor no pudiera guardarla.

La noche est‡ estrellada y ella no est‡ conmigo.
Eso es todo. A lo lejos alguien canta. A lo lejos.

Mi alma no se contenta con haberla perdido.
Como para acercarla mi mirada la busca,

Mi coraz—n la busca, y ella no est‡ conmigo.
La misma noche que hace blanquear los mismos ‡rboles.

Nosotros, los de entonces, ya no somos los mismos.
Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero cu‡nto la quise.

Mi voz buscaba el viento para tocar su o’do.
De otro. Ser‡ de otro. Como antes de mis besos.

Su voz, su cuerpo claro. Sus ojos infinitos.
Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero tal vez la quiero.

Es tan corto el amor, y es tan largo el olvido.
Porque en noches como Žsta la tuve entre mis brazos,

Mi alma no se contenta con haberla perdido.
Aunque Žste sea el œltimo dolor que ella me causa,

y Žstos sean los œltimos verso que yo le escribo.
I can write the saddest verses tonight (trans. Mark Eisner)
I can write the saddest verses tonight.
Write, for example, "The night is filled with stars,

twinkling blue, in the distance."
The night wind spins in the sky and sings.

I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.
On nights like this I held her in my arms.

I kissed her so many times beneath the infinite sky.
She loved me, at times I loved her too.

How not to have loved her great still eyes.

To think that I don't have her. To feel that I have lost her.
To hear the immense night, more immense without her.

And the verse falls onto my soul like dew onto grass.
What difference does it make if my love could not keep her.

The night is full of stars, and she is not with me.
That's all. In the distance, someone sings. In the distance.

My soul is not at peace with having lost her.
As if to bring her closer, my gaze searches for her.

My heart searches for her, and she is not with me.
The same night that whitens the same trees.

We, of then, now are no longer the same.
I no longer love her, it's true, but how much I loved her.
My voice searched for the wind which would touch her ear.
Another's. She will be another's. As before my kisses.

Her voice, her bright body. Her infinite eyes.
I no longer love her, it's true, but maybe I love her.

Love is so short, and forgetting is so long.
Because on nights like this I held her in my arms,

my soul is not at peace with having lost her.
Though this may be the final sorrow she causes me,

and these the last verses I write for her.
Tonight I Can Write (trans. W.S. Merwin)
Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
Write, for example, 'The night is starry

and the stars are blue and shiver in the distance.'
The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.
Through nights like this one I held her in my arms

I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.
She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.

How could one not have loved her great still eyes.

To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.
To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.

And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.
What does it matter that my love could not keep her.

The night is starry and she is not with me.
This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.

My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
My sight tries to find her as though to bring her closer.

My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.
The same night whitening the same trees.

We, of that time, are no longer the same.
I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.

My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.
Another's. She will be another's. As she was before my kisses.

Her voice, her bright body. Her infinite eyes.
I no longer love her, that's for certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.
Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms

my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer

and these the last verses that I write for her.
ANALYSIS
1. Puedo escribir los versos m‡s tristes esta noche. - I can write the verses more sad this
night
Puedo – I can
Escribir – to write
Los -the
Versos – verses
m‡s tristes – more sad, saddest
esta noche - tonight
2. Escribir por ejemplo: "La noche est‡ estrellada, y tiritan,

azules, los astros, a lo lejos". –
Write for example : The night is starry, and shiver,
blue, the stars, in the distance."
Escribir -write
Por -for
Ejemplo -example
La- the
Noche – night
Est ‡ estrellada- starry
y tiritan - and shiver
azules -blue
los astros - the stars
a lo lejos - in the distance
3. El viento de la noche gira en el cielo y canta.
The wind of the night turns in the sky and sings
El – the
Viento -wind
De – of
La -the
Noche – night
Gira -turns
En -in
E -the
Cielo – sky
Y -and
Canta - sings
4. Yo la quise, y a veces ella tambiŽn me quiso.
I loved her, and sometimes she also loved me.

Yo – I
La – her
Quise – loved
Y – and
a veces – sometimes
ella – she
tambiŽn – also, too
Translation Style:
The first translation (by Mark Eisner) tends to be more literal in some places, preserving the
structure and wording closely to the original Spanish.
The second translation (by W.S. Merwin) is more interpretive, aiming to capture the essence
and emotions of the poem while sometimes departing from a literal translation.
Phrasing and Word Choices:
In the first translation, "The night is filled with stars, twinkling blue, in the distance,"
contrasts with the second translation's "The night is starry and the stars are blue and shiver
in the distance." The word "twinkling" is used only in the first translation.
The second translation uses "Tonight I can write the saddest lines" instead of "I can write the
saddest verses tonight."
Structural Variations:
The first translation maintains the structure of the original, while the second translation
introduces slight variations in the structure of some lines.
Expressiveness:
The second translation, by W.S. Merwin, tends to convey a slightly more poetic and
emotionally charged tone. It employs more literary devices and nuanced language.

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Poema 20, "Puedo escribir los versos m‡s tristes...

Puedo escribir los versos m‡s tristes esta noche.

Escribir por ejemplo: "La noche est‡ estrellada, y tiritan,

El viento de la noche gira en el cielo y canta.

Puedo escribir los versos m‡s tristes esta noche.

En las noches como Žsta la tuve entre mis brazos.

Ella me quiso, a veces yo tambiŽn la quer’a

Puedo escribir los versos m‡s tristes esta noche.

O’r la noche inmensa, m‡s inmensa sin ella

QuŽ importa que mi amor no pudiera guardarla.

Eso es todo. A lo lejos alguien canta. A lo lejos.

Como para acercarla mi mirada la busca,

La misma noche que hace blanquear los mismos ‡rboles.

Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero cu‡nto la quise.

De otro. Ser‡ de otro. Como antes de mis besos.

Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero tal vez la quiero.

Porque en noches como Žsta la tuve entre mis brazos,

Aunque Žste sea el œltimo dolor que ella me causa,

I can write the saddest verses tonight.

Write, for example, "The night is filled with stars,

The night wind spins in the sky and sings.

I can write the saddest verses tonight.

On nights like this I held her in my arms.

She loved me, at times I loved her too.

I can write the saddest verses tonight.

To hear the immense night, more immense without her.

What difference does it make if my love could not keep her.

That's all. In the distance, someone sings. In the distance.

As if to bring her closer, my gaze searches for her.

The same night that whitens the same trees.

Another's. She will be another's. As before my kisses.

I no longer love her, it's true, but maybe I love her.

Because on nights like this I held her in my arms,

Though this may be the final sorrow she causes me,

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

Write, for example, 'The night is starry

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

Through nights like this one I held her in my arms

She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.

What does it matter that my love could not keep her.

This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.

My sight tries to find her as though to bring her closer.

The same night whitening the same trees.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.

Another's. She will be another's. As she was before my kisses.

Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms

Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer

2. Escribir por ejemplo: "La noche est‡ estrellada, y tiritan,

The wind of the night turns in the sky and sings

4. Yo la quise, y a veces ella tambiŽn me quiso.

I loved her, and sometimes she also loved me.

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