Somnambule Ballad

Somnambule Ballad

Green, how much I want you green.
Green wind. Green branches.
The ship upon the sea
and the horse in the mountain.
With the shadow on her waist
she dreams on her balcony,
green flesh, hair of green,
and eyes of cold silver.
Green, how much I want you green.
Beneath the gypsy moon,
all things look at her
but she cannot see them.

Green, how much I want you green.
Great stars of white frost
come with the fish of darkness
that opens the road of dawn.
the fig tree rubs the wind
with the sandpaper of its branches,
and the mountain, a filching cat,
bristles its bitter aloes.
But who will come? and from where?
She lingers on her balcony,
green flesh, hair of green,
dreaming of the bitter sea.

—Friend, I want to change
my horse for your house,
my saddle for your mirror,
my knife for your blanket,
Friend, I come bleeding,
from the passes of Cabra.
—If I could, young man,
this pact would be sealed.
But I am no more I,
nor is my house now my house.
—Friend, I want to die
decently in my bed,
Of iron, if it be possible,
with sheets of fine holland.
Do you not see the wound I have
from my breast to my throat?
—Your white shirt bears
three hundred dark roses.
Your pungent blood oozes
around your sash.
But I am no more I,
nor is my house now my house.
—Let me climb at least
up to the high balustrade:
let me come! Let me come!
up to the green balustrades.
Balustrades of the moon
where the water resounds.

Now the two friends go up
towards the high balustrades.
Leaving a trail of blood,
leaving a trail of tears,
Small lanterns of tin
were trembling on the roofs.
A thousand crystal tambourines
were piercing the dawn.

Green, how much I want you green,
green wind, green branches.
The two friends went up.
The long wind was leaving
in the mouth a strange taste
of gall, mint and sweet-basil.
Friend! Where is she, tell me,
where is your bitter girl?
How often she waited for you!
How often did she wait for you,
cool face, black hair,
on this green balcony!

Over the face of the cistern
the gypsy girl swayed.
Green flesh, hair of green,
with eyes of cold silver.
An icicle of the moon
suspends her above the water.
The night became as intimate
as a little square.
Drunken civil guards
were knocking at the door.
Green, how much I want you green,
Green wind. Green branches.
The ship upon the sea.
And the horse on the mountain.

"Federico Gacia Lorca"

Hey people!!!

Hey, you happy people
who are sitting on the shore safe and sound,
with smiles on your face,
someone is drowning in the sea,
someone is constantly struggling
in this dark, heavy, angry sea, that you know it well.
You are extremly happy
when you believe that you are enemy free,
When you think in vain that you've given a hand to a weak person,
to eleminate their weekness,
When you tighten your belts,
When, when, when?
When shall I tell you
that someone is drowning in the sea
and is sacrificing in vain?
Hey, you people over there
who are sitting carelessly on the shore,
with delicious foods on your table,
wearing nice and couzy clothing,
someone is calling you from the sea.
He beats the heavy wave with his tired hand,
his mouth agape, eyes torn wide with terror,
he has seen your shadows from far away,
has swallowed water in the dark blue deep,
each moment his impatience grows more and more.
He waives from the sea
with his arm, at times,
and at times, with his head...
Hey you people there,
he still has his eyes on this old world from a far,
he's shouting and hopes for help.
Hey you people
who are calmly watching from the shore,
the wave beats on the silent shore,
spreads like a drunk fallen on his bed unconscious,
recedes with a roar, and this call comes from afar again:
Hey, you people on the shore...

And the sound of the wind
more heart-rending by the moment,
and his voice gets weaker almost lost in the sounds of the wind;
from waters near and far
again this call is heard:
Hey, you peolpe on the shore...

By: Nima Youshij

Translated by: Julius D.