In an effort to try my hand at some reading in a foreign language, I chose to read/translate various poems from the infamous Spanish author, Pablo Neruda. Accordingly, in doing so, I found myself learning a great deal more about the Spanish language. While I have always had trouble with verbally conversing in Spanish, reading and writing the language has always come much easier to me. I believe it's because of my English major and Creative Writing pursuits that I find the written foreign word to be more understandable. And, although I will continue to improve upon my verbal Spanish skills, it was refreshing to actually read these poems and then, in turn, feel as if I truly absorbed them. Not only did I learn a bunch of new vocabulary, but I also gained some valuable experience concerning the language's grammar and syntax. Also, because, after reading the poems in Spanish, I then tried to translate let them into English, I learned more about the language simply by going through each and every word and sentence in the poem extremely carefully. Had I just read over the poems in Spanish a few times rather than trying to directly translate them, I definitely would not have gained the same knowledge. Therefore, I will most certainly keep trying to improve upon my reading/writing Spanish skills as this exercise may have been the most helpful of them all.
Furthermore, included below is the original Neruda poem I translated from Spanish, followed by my English version. Hopefully my work is not too far off.
"Ah Vastedad de Pinos"
Ah vastedad de pinos, rumor de olas quebrándose,
lento juego de luces, campana solitaria,
crepúsculo cayendo en tus ojos, muñeca,
caracola terrestre, en ti la tierra canta!
En ti los ríos cantan y mi alma en ellos huye
como tú lo desees y hacia donde tú quieras.
Márcame mi camino en tu arco de esperanza
y soltaré en delirio mi bandada de flechas.
En torno a mí estoy viendo tu cintura de niebla
y tu silencio acosa mis horas perseguidas,
y eres tú con tus brazos de piedra transparente
donde mis besos anclan y mi húmeda ansia anida.
Ah tu voz misteriosa que el amor tiñe y dobla
en el atardecer resonante y muriendo!
Así en horas profundas sobre los campos he visto
doblarse las espigas en la boca del viento.
Ah Vastness of Pines (my English version)
Ah vastness of pines, murmur of waves breaking,
slow play of lights, singly bell,
twilight falling in your eyes, toy doll,
earthly shell, in you the earth sings!
In you the rivers sing and my soul flees in them
as you want, and you send it where you will.
Target my road on your bow of hope
and in a frenzy I will free my flock of arrows.
All around me I see your waist of fog,
and your silence hunts down my tormented hours;
my kisses anchor, and my moist desire nests
in you with your arms of transparent stone.
Ah your mysterious voice that love tolls and deepens
in the resonant and dying evening!
Thus in the long hours I have seen, over the fields,
the ears of wheat tolling in the mouth of the wind.
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