The Two Doves

rendered from the Spanish of

Rosalía de Castro

I saw two doves flying in the sky
when suddenly their wings touched

and they were momentarily joined together...

A light touch it’s true , perhaps by magic,
but the two trembled. They were shaken,
and a sweet charm, brief but indefinable,
infused their souls.

Suddenly their two single flights

became twisted into one,
and they were happily rocked in the wind
like a swan on the waves.

Joined together, they flew tenderly attached.
To their pleasure, a visionary world opened,
and a more totally captivating environment.

At last, at the end of their flight,

they jointly find their nest
in a soft bed of lilies and roses,
where they sleep together,
free and white, like butterflies.

At dawn, they raise their beaks together,
and in the shining light of the new day,
their loving caresses make a bright,

cheerful parasol over their nest.

In clouds of gold and sapphire,

they row a rolling ship
in a tranquil sea,

and coo gently
in the day’s

cool breeze.

Together the two exchange

the honey in their beaks.

And thus their days were capped

in these living, unfading flowers,
and bitter disappointments never
disturbed their delights.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Happy those peaceful birds flying free
enjoying the expanse and purity

of a virginal atmosphere!