A prayer for Foxluv and her family:)
For those who aren't familiar with Foxluv (Linda), she is a valued and respected member of this site. Recently one of her close relatives have died and although I don't know if it's too late....I'd appreciate if you could help me to translate the following poem that I dug up for her as she had requested a translation in Spanish. I know that it defies the conventional rules of this forum....but I'm hoping that because the circumstances are exceptional, you might be able to help.
Here is the poem:
You can shed tears that they have gone,
or you can smile because they have lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that they'll come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all they've left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see them,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember them only that they have gone,
or you can cherish their memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what they'd want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
And according to the translator, this is its translation to give you something to work with. Many thanks....and please forgive me if I'm being lazy at all:
Usted puede derramar lágrimas que se han ido,
o puedes sonreír porque ha vivido.
Usted puede cerrar los ojos y rezar para que volveré,
o usted puede abrir los ojos y ver todo lo que he dejado.
Tu corazón puede estar vacío porque no se puede ver,
o puede estar lleno del amor que has compartido.
Usted puede dar la espalda a mañana y tarde en vivo,
o puede ser feliz para mañana, porque de ayer.
Usted puede recordar sólo que se han ido,
o se puede apreciar su memoria y dejar vivir.
Puedes llorar y cerrar tu mente,
estar vacío y darle la espalda.
O bien, puede hacer lo que querría:
sonríe, abre los ojos, el amor y seguir adelante.
11 Answers
I think it is better not to use "usted" when you're attempting to convey a personal message. Definitely the automated translator is not a very good tool for poetry.
Puedes derramar lágrimas porque se han ido,
o puedes sonreír porque han vivido.
Puedes cerrar los ojos y rezar para que vuelvan,
o puedes abrir los ojos y ver todo lo que han dejado.
Tu corazón puede estar vacío porque no los puedes ver,
o puede estar lleno del amor que has compartido.
Puedes darle la espalda al mañana y vivir en el ayer,
o puedes alegrarte del mañana, por el ayer.
Puedes recordar sólo que se han ido,
o puedes atesorar su memoria y permitir que viva.
Puedes llorar y cerrar tu mente,
estar vacío y dar la espalda.
O bien, puede hacer lo que ellos querrían:
sonríe, abre los ojos, ama y sigue adelante.
This is a great idea, Seb, I know she will like it. Thank you.
There is a lot here to translate Seb and as I'm in school right now I can't help at this minute. I do want to give my condolences to her and her family. If I get a chance I will help later.
Gracias Seb, muy amable...
I really thank all of you for your prayers and well wishes and a special thanks to Seb to make such an effort to translate that poem. Since the funeral was the next day, I didn't have the translation but I did take the English version to give to my granddaughter and she liked it so much she read it to all the ones attending the funeral (close to 2 hundred). I will email the spanish version to her so she can give it to her mother-in-law. I am doing ok but the sadness is still pretty raw since I keep thinking about all our good times together and Luis was only 29 years old, too young to die so suddenly and leave a 2 year old son and a young wife.
Otra vez, gracias todo del foro.
Thanks everyone...I appreciate the comments. Just an update- I've sent Linda a PM with the translation...and hope the message finds her well.
This from the internet.
You can shed tears that they have gone,
"Se puede derramar lágrimas que ella se ha ido,
or you can smile because she has lived.
o puedes sonreír porque ha vivido.
You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back,
Usted puede cerrar los ojos y rezar para que ella vuelva,
or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.
usted puede abrir los ojos y ver todo lo que queda.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see her,
Tu corazón puede estar vacío porque no se puede verla,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
o puede estar lleno del amor que has compartido.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
Usted puede dar la espalda a mañana y tarde en vivo,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
o puede ser feliz para mañana, porque de ayer.
You can remember her only that she is gone,
Usted puede recordar su único que se ha ido,
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
o se puede apreciar su memoria y dejar vivir.
You can cry and close your mind,
Puedes llorar y cerrar tu mente,
be empty and turn your back.
estar vacío y darle la espalda.
Or you can do what she'd want:
O usted puede hacer lo que ella querría:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
” sonríe, abre los ojos, el amor y seguir adelante. "
What a lovely poem. Do you know the author?
It is from David Harkins- a painter and poet, and a former factory worker and motorway service-station cleaner from Cumbria. It's amazing how literature and poetry is for everyone to appreciate and love....it doesn't just appeal to one specific class of people. The amazing thing about this poem is that it was read by the British Queen for her mother's funeral....although it was written in another form. The copy of the poem that I got was edited....and I only discovered now.
Here's a picture of David:
I tried to do the first bit...I hope it's ok:
Puedes derramar las lágrimas porque han muerto,
o puedes sonreír porque han vivido.
Puedes cerrar los ojos y rezar que volverán,
o puedes abrir los ojos y ver todo lo que han dejado.
Thank you Gekkosan, for your reply....and John to you too. I'll PM Foxluv with the Spanish translation.
I'm not that much of an expert....but I wish her well in this time of darkness.
No problem, any time....I understand the sadness that you must be feeling right now and wish you and all your family well, as do the others on this site.
