Alfonsina y el mar [English translation]

Among the soft sand where the sea laps

Her small footprints will never return

A lone path of pain and silence arrives

To the deep water

A lone path of silent sadness arrives

To the foam

God knows what pain accompanied you

Which old sadnesses fell from your voice

To lie back, lulled by the song of the sea snails

The song that sings from the dark depth of the sea

The snail

You leave, Alfonsina, with your loneliness

What new poems have you gone to find?

An ancient voice of wind and sand

Shatters your soul once again and carries it on

And you go towards there as in dreams

Asleep, Alfonsina, dressed in the sea

Five mermaids will bring you

Along paths of algae and coral

And glowing seahorses will dance

A round at your side

And the inhabitants of the water will come to play

Soon by your side

Lower the lamp a little more

Let me sleep, nurse, in peace

And if he calls don’t tell him I’m here

Tell him that Alfonsina is not coming back

And if he calls never tell him I’m here

Tell him that I’ve gone

You leave, Alfonsina, with your loneliness

What new poems have you gone to find?

An ancient voice of wind and sand

Shatters your soul once again and carries it on

And you go towards there as in dreams

Asleep, Alfonsina, dressed in the sea