A translation into English of A un ruiseñor que se puso a cantar al tiempo que una persona estaba contando sus pesares a otro, a décima by María Egual. Translation by Josh Johnson.

Translator's note: In approaching the rhyme and meter of this décima, I found it helpful to rhyme “malady” with “remedy”, which required rearranging lines 7-9. In adding a period at the end of line 6, I found that the meaning of each section was maintained and allowed for this rearrangement. Additionally, though the mood of line 10 was changed from the imperative/subjunctive to the indicative, the idea is maintained. More generally speaking, I sought to preserve the stark contrast of word choice between describing the nightingale (“mild,” “soothing,” “gentle”) and describing the speaker’s troubles (“oppressive,” “appalling,” “malady”).