Despierta, tiemblo al mirarte;
Dormida me atrevo á verte;Por eso, alma de mi alma,
Yo velo mientras tú duermes.
Despierta, ríes; y al reir, tus labios
Inquietos me parecen
Relámpagos de grana que serpean
Sobre un cielo de nieve.
Dormida,[2] los extremos de tu boca
Pliega sonrisa leve,[3]
Suave como el rastro luminoso
Que deja un sol que muere...
—¡Duerme!
Despierta, miras, y al mirar, tus ojos
Húmedos resplandecen
Como la onda azul, en cuya cresta
Chispeando el sol hiere.
Al través de tus parpados, dormida,
Tranquilo fulgor viertes,
Cual derrama de luz templado rayo
Lámpara transparente[4] ...
—¡Duerme!
Despierta, hablas, y al hablar, vibrantes
Tus palabras parecen
Lluvia de perlas que en dorada copa
Se derrama á torrentes?[5]
Dormida, en el murmullo de tu aliento
Acompasado y tenue,
Escucho yo un poema, que mi alma
Enamorada entiende ...
—¡Duerme!
Sobre el corazòn la mano
Me he puesto, porque no suene
Su latido, y de la noche
Turbe la calma solemne.
De tu balcòn las persianas
Cerré ya, porque no entre
El resplandor enojoso
De la aurora, y te despierte ...
—¡Duerme!
[Footnote 1: The 1st, 8th, and 9th stanzas of this poem are in octosyllabic verses, and the rest in hendecasyllabic verses of both classes, with heptasyllabic verses alternating. A refrain of dissyllabic verse begins at the close of the 3d stanza and recurs after that regularly at the close of every other stanza. The even verses of each stanza have the same assonance throughout, as does the refrain. Notice the hiatus in the 3d verse of the 4th stanza and in the 1st verse of the 6th stanza.]
[Footnote 2: Dormida. All of the texts that have been consulted read Despierta, but the contrast throughout the poem between the two ideas seems to warrant the reading given here, and Mrs. Ward in her translation of the poem (see Macmillan's Mag., Feb., 1883, p. 317) so renders it:
Asleep, the corners of thy mouth
A light smile upcurls,
Sweet as the luminous trail
Left by the dying sun—
Sleep!
]
[Footnote 3: los ... leve. Prose order—(una) leve sonrisa pliega los extremos...]
[Footnote 4: Cual... transparente. Prose order—Cual (una) lámpara transparente derrama (un) templado rayo de luz.]
[Footnote 5: Notice Mrs. Ward's translation of this stanza:
Awake thou speak'st, and as thou speak'st, thy words
Vibrating seem
A rain of pearls that in a golden cup
Plashes in torrents.
See Macmillan's Magazine, February, 1883, p. 317.]