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._]