Saturday, May 11, 2024

Without You

A sonnet, Nature, by Luís de Camões (1524-1580), translated by William Baer (Selected Sonnets, University of Chicago Press, 2005, 40-41):

            The beauty of the sweet, fresh mountains here,
            the shade of the green chestnut trees, the pace
            of all the gently crawling streams, this place
            where all one's sadness seems to disappear.

            The hoarse sounds of the sea, the lands that lie
            below, the sun hiding near the hills, the last
            of the lingering cattle slowly moving past,
            the clouds still gently warring in the sky.

            But, finally, all these beauties of nature, pouring
            forth their various splendors, only create
            harsh fresh wounds since you're not here with me.

            Without you, everything is disgusting, and boring;
            without you, I feel, even within this great
            natural happiness, the greatest possible misery.

            A fermosura desta fresca serra
            e a sombra dos verdes castanheiros,
            o manso caminhar destes ribeiros,
            donde toda a tristeza se desterra;

            o rouco som do mar, a estranha terra,
            o esconder do sol pelos outeiros,
            o recolher dos gados derradeiros,
            das nuvens pelo ar a branda guerra;

            enfim, tudo o que a rara natureza
            com tanta variedade nos of'rece,
            me está, se não te vejo, magoando.

            Sem ti, tudo me enoja e me avorrece;
            sem ti, perpetuamente estou passando,
            nas mores alegrias, mór tristeza.

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