Concha Lagos

Two poems translated from Spanish by Adriana Scopino
November 22, 2021 Lagos Concha

Two poems by Concha Lagos translated from Spanish by Adriana Scopino

 

What a Fire

What a fire is kindled in the windows
by the last shout of sunset.
With the look of a startled deer
I step into its scarlet.
Waves overhead
bring to memory
a rebellious sea
scourger of clouds
filling me with foam and rainbows.

 

Also resplendent is that rosebush
climber of walls and eaves.
All candled by the red
crackling bit by bit in the balconies,
remembrance set in live embers.

 
 

Qué Llamarada

 

Qué llamarada pone en los cristales
el último alarido del ocaso.
Con un mirar de ciervo sorprendido
me adentro en su escarlata.
Olas por alto me traen a la memoria
un mar rebelde
flagelador de nubes,
llenándome de espumas y arcos iris.

 

También se reflorece aquel rosal
escalador de tapias y de aleros.
Todo candela al rojo
crepitando a destajo en los balcones,
poniendo el recordar en ascua viva.

 

 

A Fleeting Instant

 

I’ve had my fill of the stars and I’ve had my fill of the fountain,
the hidden one that flows.
This afternoon I’m full of the blue and the swallows,
the rising beauty of the fields,
the miracle of any butterfly rocking itself in air.

 

Instante Fugaz

 

Me bastan las estrellas y me basta la fuente,
la que escondida mana.
Esta tarde me basta de azul y golondrinas
la belleza creciente de los campos,
el milagro de alguna mariposa meciéndose en el aire.

 

Spanish Poet Concha Lagos, born Concepción Gutiérrez Torrero in 1907 in Cordoba, published 40 books, including essays, prose, children’s verse and plays before her death in 2007. In the 1950s in Madrid she started the influential literary network known as Agora, with a magazine, publishing house and cultural salon. During her lifetime she received much acclaim but as she withdrew from the public eye in her final years she was almost forgotten. Interest in her work has revived since her death in 2007. A collection of her poems, Agua, edited by poet Juana Castro was released in 2008. The Instituto Cervantes, Centro Virtual Cervantes, has recently compiled an online resource on Lagos including poems, biographical information and essays.