A Fray Esteban Izquierdo, Fraile Francisco,
en agradecimiento de una bota de agua de azahar
y unas pasas

La Aurora, de azahares coronada,
sus lágrimas partió con vuestra bota,
ni de las peregrinaciones rota,
ni de los conductores esquilmada.

De sus risueños ojos desatada,
fragrante perla cada breve gota,
por seráfica abeja fue, devota,
a bota peregrina trasladada.

Uvas os debe Clío, mas ceciales;
mínimas en el hábito, mas pasas,
a pesar del perífrasis absurdo.

Las manos de Alejandro hacéis escasas,
segunda la capilla del de Ales,
Izquierdo Esteban, sí, no Esteban zurdo.



To Fray Esteban Izquierdo, a Franciscan brother,
thanking him for a carafe of orange blossom water
and some raisins.

The Dawn, with orange blossoms all adorned,
apportioned half its tears to your carafe,
which was not broken in its wanderings,
nor was it pilfered by the carter's staff.

Once separated from her laughing eyes,
each tiny drop, just like a fragrant pearl,
by a seraphic bee was, faithfully,
to wandering carafe duly transferred.

Clio owes you some grapes, like salted cod;
though minimal in habit, clearly plum,
in spite of this absurd circumlocution.

You make the fists of Alexander tight,
at Hales his chapel now seems second class,
what Stephen left, left naught to disillusion. 

                     (©Alix Ingber, 1995)



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Translation notes: I still haven't come up with a solution to the pun on "devota"/de bota which appears in the second quatrain (as well as several other sonnets). In the final line I did what I could with the pun on Izquierdo, but I'm not entirely satisfied with it.



E-mail your comments and questions to:

Alix Ingber
Professor of Spanish
Sweet Briar College

ingber@sbc.edu



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