The Hand Against the Light

I am really fond of the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez, but translating him, oh my goodness, what can sound sublime in century old Spanish can sound a little silly in English or anyway my English. The unique butterfly! ¡Dios mio! But I try. Anyone who wants to try his or her hand at this, be my guest. As far as translation, I’d be interested to see what others come up with. Put it in a comment and I will add it here.

LA MANO CONTRA LA LUZ

No somos mas que un débil saco
de sangre y huesos,
y un alfiler, verdad, puede matarnos;
pero corre en nosotros la semilla
que puede dejar fuera de nosotros
la mariposa única,
de luz sólo y de sombra sólo y sólo nuestras,
sin piel, red ni armadura,
ni posibilidad de ser cazada
por nada humano no divino;
el ser invulnerable,
Inmaterial, tan largo como el mundo,
que colma, libre, lo infinito
y se sale de él a lo imposible.

THE HAND AGAINST THE LIGHT

We are nothing more than a fragile sack
of blood and bones
and a pin quite honestly can kill us
but there runs in us a seed
that can leave beyond us
the unique butterfly
of light only and shade only and only ours
without skin, net or armor
that cannot be caught
by anything human or divine
an invulnerable untouchable being
as large as the world
that freely fills the infinite
and steps out of it into the impossible.

The Hand by Patricia Kelly