Del túmulo que hizo Córdoba
en las honras de la señora reina doña Margarita


Máquina funeral, que desta vida
nos decís la mudanza, estando queda;
pira, no de aromática arboleda,
si a más gloriosa Fénix construida;

bajel en cuya gabia esclarecida
estrellas, hijas de otra mejor Leda,
serenan la Fortuna, de su rueda
la volubilidad reconocida,

farol luciente sois que solicita
la razón, entre escollos naufragante,
al puerto; y a pesar de lo luciente,

obscura concha de una Margarita
que, rubí en caridad, en fe diamante,
renace a nuevo Sol en nuevo Oriente.



On the catafalque in honor of Queen Margarita
in Córdoba

Funerary construct, of this life
you record change, yourself remaining still;
a pyre, though not of aromatic groves,
yet for a more exalted Phoenix built;

a mighty ship on whose resplendent mast
daughters of a better Leda, stars,
make Fortune tranquil, having of her wheel
full recognized the fickle calendars,

a shining beacon are you which directs
our reason, perishing against the reefs,
to shore; and yet although your brightness stuns,

you are the dark shell of a Margarite
in mercy ruby, diamond, too, in faith,
reborn in a new Dawn to a new Sun. 

                     (©Alix Ingber, 1995)

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E-mail your comments and questions to:

Alix Ingber
Professor of Spanish
Sweet Briar College

ingber@sbc.edu



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