[Please read the note at the bottom of the page. It should help.]
That night
the beach was full of fires,
and the waves rolled in mysterious,
foam-laden,
from the ancient lands.
And on the beach
full of fires and magic
we burned our paper wishes,
for that night they might even come true.
Then, because we were unwilling to wait
the last few minutes, we ran
a little before midnight
into the mysterious, ancient, pagan sea
and submerged ourselves in the foam.
You rose up,
shouting amid the waves
with the joy of that night.
When fireworks shot into the sky,
and some, falling to the sea,
exploded there again
to shoot from the very waves,
you also leapt up, shouting
with the energy of that magic night.
And later, when we were almost
the last remaining in the sea,
we went up onto the beach
full of fires and love.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Aquella noche
la playa estaba llena de hogueras,
y las olas se sucedían misteriosas,
cargadas de espuma,
de las antiguas tierras.
Y en la playa
llena de hogueras y magia
quemamos los deseos de papel
que esa noche aun se podrían realisar.
Pues, poco dispuestos a esperar
los últimos minutos, corrimos
antes de que sonaran las doce
a la mar misteriosa, antigua, pagana,
hundiéndonos en la espuma.
Surgisteis vosotras
gritando en medio de las olas
con la alegría de esa noche.
Cuando subieron fuegos al cielo,
y cuando algunos, cayendo al mar,
estallaron allí mismo
para subir de nuevo de las olas,
saltasteis tambien, gritando
con la energía de esta noche mágica.
Y al final, cuando éramos casi
los últimos en quedarnos en el mar,
salimos a la playa
llena de hogueras y amor.
May 19, 2016
May 19, 2016 at 12:20 PM UTC
[Please read the note at the bottom of the page. It should help.]
That night
the beach was full of fires,
and the waves rolled in mysterious,
foam-laden,
from the ancient lands.
And on the beach
full of fires and magic
we burned our paper wishes,
for that night they might even come true.
Then, because we were unwilling to wait
the last few minutes, we ran
a little before midnight
into the mysterious, ancient, pagan sea
and submerged ourselves in the foam.
You rose up,
shouting amid the waves
with the joy of that night.
When fireworks shot into the sky,
and some, falling to the sea,
exploded there again
to shoot from the very waves,
you also leapt up, shouting
with the energy of that magic night.
And later, when we were almost
the last remaining in the sea,
we went up onto the beach
full of fires and love.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Aquella noche
la playa estaba llena de hogueras,
y las olas se sucedían misteriosas,
cargadas de espuma,
de las antiguas tierras.
Y en la playa
llena de hogueras y magia
quemamos los deseos de papel
que esa noche aun se podrían realisar.
Pues, poco dispuestos a esperar
los últimos minutos, corrimos
antes de que sonaran las doce
a la mar misteriosa, antigua, pagana,
hundiéndonos en la espuma.
Surgisteis vosotras
gritando en medio de las olas
con la alegría de esa noche.
Cuando subieron fuegos al cielo,
y cuando algunos, cayendo al mar,
estallaron allí mismo
para subir de nuevo de las olas,
saltasteis tambien, gritando
con la energía de esta noche mágica.
Y al final, cuando éramos casi
los últimos en quedarnos en el mar,
salimos a la playa
llena de hogueras y amor.
La Noche de San Juan (Saint John's Night) is celebrated on 23 June, the modern equivalent of the ancient midsummer celebration, thinly disguised as a religious festival. The scene here is Spain, where I wrote this simultaneously in English and Spanish, not translating from one to the other.
The "you" who rose from the waves are, as Spanish-speakers will realise, plural and female, but the "love" that runs through the whole piece is general, not for an individual.
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