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Qué hermoso es ver el día
(Rima LXVII)
Becquer
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870)

How beautiful to view the crown
of fire encircling day, to watch its rise,
to see its kiss illuminate
the brilliant waves, its blaze ignite the skies!
 
How beautiful in gloomy fall
to drink perfume from flower petals still
a little moist from morning rain,
to breathe in sweetness ‘til you’ve had your fill!
 
How beautiful to watch as white
descends in silent flakes of powdered snow,
to gaze at crimson tongues that stir
within the hearth that frames their crackling glow!
 
How beautiful when feeling tired
to rest a snoring head on pillows’ fluff,
to eat and drink and fatten up!
And what a shame these things are not enough!

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870)
Translated by Paul Burgess
Translator's note:
Instead of providing a strict, academic translation, I have sought to recreate the experience of reading Bécquer. While recognizing that this is “my” Bécquer, I hope that this version will help contemporary English speakers enjoy the nearly untranslatable musicality and lyricism of one of the finest lyric poets to have ever written in Spanish.

If you have any thoughts about this poem or its translation,  Paul Burgess  would like to hear them

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