Firm ground (Tierra firme)

A lovers’ poem from my Dad to my Mum in 1960, the year in which they got married. Tonight, just because, to my beloved HTH, my firm ground, my rock.  From my Dad’s book Poetry (Poesía).

Firm ground (Tierra firme)

Even if they told me one day – oh hidden time,

limitless,

that the fine crystals that your love protects

and your life wears

will have to be broken,

I would raise my voice and your clear name

as a flag on the firm ground

of my heart.

And even if they told me one day – oh bitter ash

of resentment –

that the nameless wind will carry your name

and I will end up alone and will continue to be alone,

I would feel more strongly the infinite force

that joins me to your destiny…and the quiet

fertility of your heart.

Because there are no sad fires in the heart

nor whimsical lines in our future.

I ascended to your summits climbing anguishes

and you gave my sorrows the joy

and sweetness of the world.

Because now the tower of my dreams

is not a tower without command

and in the light of my heart

- You master, watch with your clear eyes,

with your pure hands,

over my whole present, my entire future and my past.

Because I have cancelled all the return roads.

And because the future routes have been closed.

My day and my night are in your dwelling.

By the side of your soul I will bury my bones.

You are my road, my guide, my north.

Because now my shadow and your shadow will go together

and they will share the same fate.

Neither the dry summer nor the foggy winter

will be able to derail me nor to lose you.

Only God will be able to remove the eras

that my rough hands and your soft hands form…

That only Death will be able to

separate us.

To Luzmyla

1960