{"id":57,"date":"2010-06-14T14:34:56","date_gmt":"2010-06-14T22:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/?p=57"},"modified":"2010-06-14T14:52:50","modified_gmt":"2010-06-14T22:52:50","slug":"the-sea-within-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/2010\/06\/14\/the-sea-within-me\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sea Within Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

Translated by Liz Rogers.<\/p>\n

This translation is a selection of poems taken from a larger collection. To my knowledge, the poetry of Eduardo Gener Cuadrado has never before been translated. It follows that the process of selecting is of supreme importance; after all, we want this selection to be representative of his whole body of work. The book of poems in question is divided thematically into three parts; the first section deals with the sea, the second with his \u2018land\u2019 experience, and the third with his Catholic faith.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Source text: Eduardo Gener Cuadrado, El mar que llevo adentro<\/cite>. [Jerez de la Frontera]: Jerez Industrial, 1964.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn memoriam\u201d<\/b>
By Eduardo Gener Cuadrado<\/p>\n

10 years now and a bitter slime
\ninside us, over your still remains.
\nGod is smiling, \u201coh, what a shame\u201d,
\nfacing your soul of honey and lime.<\/p>\n

10 years, Jos\u00e9 Alfonso de Gabriel.
\nYou with Him and us with this pain.
\nEach day that passes the woe does not wane,
\nwe with you but you with Him, meanwhile.<\/p>\n

Winding down the cyclone of leaps and of bounds
\nwhen in your youth, svelte and profound
\nGod claimed it to tell you: my fellow,<\/p>\n

to give you as much as His essence contains;
\nthe soul of all souls, the plain of all plains;
\nthough you go with Him, we still say \u201chello\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI embody it\u201d<\/b>
By Eduardo Gener Cuadrado<\/p>\n

Frosted sea glass
\ncrackles over the wave:
\nskin of the sea, my body.<\/p>\n

Life\u2019s hot sweat
\nin this slimy ruin
\nof the dead, is now diluted.<\/p>\n

The taste, it bites,
\nof mislaid gold in
\nrusting treasure chests.<\/p>\n

The sea in me
\nso acutely I feel
\nthat it seems to dissolve away.<\/p>\n

\u201cA fog in the Strait!\u201d<\/b>
By Eduardo Gener Cuadrado<\/p>\n

The monstrosity, Gibraltar\u2019s giant snout:
\nit laps the ocean\u2019s salty water up.<\/p>\n

In Algeciras, the tariff arabesque
\nmakes its way from Ceuta; all the while,
\na fog drifts down, judicious, through the Strait:<\/p>\n

She wears a suit of fine-spun silken grey,
\nher d\u00e9colletage left out exposed to view;
\nher skirt extends, the frilling ruffles flounce
\n(with fingertips she picks it up to keep
\nfrom swelling, the hemline against the floor azure);
\nbelow, her pretty little silk chopines
\nreign down, drizzled with silver lining; silent,
\nher cunning derides the dangers, laughing.<\/p>\n

The glossy swordfish and steely urchins tossed
\nby fierce waves and surf of such a narrows;
\nand Tarifa to Tangier, the tariff arabesque.<\/p>\n

And the monstrous Gibraltar\u2019s giant snout:
\nstill laps the ocean\u2019s salty water up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Four Elements, my lady and I\u201d<\/b>
By Eduardo Gener Cuadrado<\/p>\n

I<\/p>\n

Dirt, mud and sand:
\nyour foot sinks
\nLeaves me marked<\/p>\n

II<\/p>\n

Blue deep:
\nmermaid dives
\n\u2018Tis you, my thirst<\/p>\n

III<\/p>\n

Heavy space:
\nI lie within
\nYour skin<\/p>\n

IV<\/p>\n

Inside you:
\nan ardent flame
\nI remain<\/p>\n

\u201cHalcyon\u201d<\/b>
By Eduardo Gener Cuadrado<\/p>\n

Facing the Gate of San Isidoro
\nthe Virgin of Loreto alone,
\nthe gilded air is full of Her essence:
\nthat verse from the sonnet has flown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Translated by Liz Rogers. This translation is a selection of poems taken from a larger collection. To my knowledge, the poetry of Eduardo Gener Cuadrado has never before been translated. It follows that the process of selecting is of supreme importance; after all, we want this selection to be representative of his whole body of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131,3306],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literature","category-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions\/66"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/span401\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}