Literary Interlude: Poema de la Despedida

Anytime is a good time for José Ángel Buesa. It is amazing to me that just about any Cuban senior citizen I know can recite huge chunks of his poetry.

Poema de la Despedida

Te digo adiós, y acaso te quiero todavía.
Quizá no he de olvidarte, pero te digo adiós.
No sé si me quisiste... No sé si te quería...
O tal vez nos quisimos demasiado los dos.

Este cariño triste, y apasionado, y loco,
me lo sembré en el alma para quererte a ti.
No sé si te amé mucho... no sé si te amé poco;
pero sí sé que nunca volveré a amar así.

Me queda tu sonrisa dormida en mi recuerdo,
y el corazón me dice que no te olvidaré;
pero, al quedarme solo, sabiendo que te pierdo,
tal vez empiezo a amarte como jamás te amé.

Te digo adiós, y acaso, con esta despedida,
mi más hermoso sueño muere dentro de mí...
Pero te digo adiós, para toda la vida,
aunque toda la vida siga pensando en ti.


Very Rough Translation:

The Farewell Poem

I bid you goodbye, and perhaps I still love you,
it may be I will not forget you, but I bid you goodbye just the same.
I don’t know if you loved me…I don’t know if I loved you…
or whether we two loved too much.

This feeling, plaintive, and passionate, and crazed,
I seeded in my soul in order to love you.
I don’t know if I loved you much…or if I loved you little;
but I do know that I will never love this way again.

I am left with the memory of your sleepy smile,
and my heart tells me that you I will not forget;
Alone, and knowing what I have lost,
I may begin to love you as I never loved you before.

I bid you goodbye, and maybe with this leavetaking,
my most gorgeous dream dies within me…
But I bid you goodbye for life,
although my whole life I may continue to think on you.