A Song by a Lady Named Florencia Pinar
A translation into English of Canción de una dama que se dice Florencia Pinar, a canción by Florencia Pinar. Translation by Valerie Hegstrom.
Translator's note: In this translation, I have worked to represent the syllable count and rhyme scheme in the source text. Additionally, I have sought to echo the repetition of the Spanish sound ay, in the source text, by repeating the English sound "oh" throughout the translation.
Translation
Oh! woe for one whose life has passed
for none knows pain for lonely “oh!”
And if one does, oh! for fears will grow.
And lo an oh! that can slip past
the someone used to life with “oh!”
And lo the pleasures, lo the griefs,
lo glories, lo a thousand aches!
And lo there is, where love’s pain breaks,
if you have luck, a great relief.
Although in prison, life held fast,
if one’s consoled by such an “oh!,”
no reason to keep watch on woe,
except oh! there’s one slips past
the someone used to life with “oh!”