Tissues from the Alhambra, Poem II - Poema II, Pañuelos de La Alhambra, traducido al inglés por Gordon Mason

Tell me, centenarian bark,

if in another age my steps reached you

and if your stalks trembled

at the reflection of my eyes or the sound of my voice.

Tell me, with that age-old talk that makes you infinite

if I once sat down under your shadow

and you covered me

to keep me in that age.

Tell me if I'm in your memory

as you have always been

in the constant momentum that leads me to my home,

to that home which I once left undeservedly,

a home in a compulsive search

whose light flickers and where I know that I am,

finally,

about to arrive.

If you recognise me, move the freshness of your revitalised land

and prepare your roots to celebrate my return.

You are my truth.

In front of you,

the known path remains locked in the air of memory

and I've got you a present of lost steps

which have been deepened by the feet of my breath.

I leave behind a century of small havens

where others took my view.

Now that I have you in front of me,

my heart wonders if in you, like in me,

beats the memory.