No sé lo que he soñado
En la noche pasada;
Triste, muy triste debió ser el sueño,
Pues despierto la angustia me duraba.
Noté, al incorporarme,
Húmeda la almohada,
Y por primera vez sentí, al notarlo,
De un amargo placer henchirse el alma.
Triste cosa es el sueño
Que llanto nos arranca;
Mas tengo en mi tristeza una alegría...
¡Sé que aún me quedan lágrimas!
[Footnote 1: Each stanza of this poem is composed of two heptasyllabic verses followed (except in the case of the third stanza which ends in a heptasyllabic verse) by two hendecasyllabic verses. The even verses have the same assonance throughout. Notice the esdrújulo ending the poem.
The thought in the poem recalls that of Heine's Ich hab' im Traum geweinet. Becquer's verses are less musical, but the sentiment expressed by them is less artificial, and gives evidence of more real bitterness of heart.
I wept while I was dreaming
That thou didst buried lie;
I woke, and with my weeping
My cheeks were not yet dry.
I wept while I was dreaming
That thou hadst gone from me;
I woke, and still kept weeping
Full long and bitterly.
I wept while I was dreaming
That thou didst love me well;
I woke, and—woe is me, love—
My tears are flowing still.
Lyrical Intermezzo, no. 59, translated by Chas. G. Leland.]