Selected Poems and Literary Works

The Late Blooming Oak / A Un Roble Tarde Florecido

A stunted oak without greenery
that dried yesterday appearing to be,
Son of the desert, Páramo of the drought,
the next victim of the woodcutter,

She was like a girl without a womb
which in her barenness was consumed,
by the night’s rain, oh what happiness!
She has dawned this morning in bloom.

I was a little surprised
to behold the flowered oak
so much of Spring’s tenderness

which steals from dawn’s gardens,
these mother-of-pearl flowers that bloomed from the
dead arms from which nothing was expected.

Un desmedrado roble sin verdor
que seco ayer a todos parecía,
hijo del páramo de la sequía,
próxima víctima de leñador,

que era como una niña sin amor
que en su esterilidad se consumía,
con la lluvia de anoche, ¡oh, qué alegría!
ha amanecido esta mañana en flor.

Yo me he quedado un poco sorprendido
al contemplar en el roble florecido
tanta ternura de la primavera,

que roba en los jardines de la aurora,
esas flores de nácar con que enflora
los brazos muertos del que nada espera