🇪🇸

¡Amor! Aún no has llegado y ya me ciñes toda by Ernestina de Champourcín — Analysis & Translation

2 min read Spanish

Original Poem

¡Amor! Aún no has llegado y ya me ciñes toda ligándote a mi cuerpo como un rosal herido. ¡Enderézame tú! Que mi raíz obscura absorba hasta esponjarse el zumo que redime. Amor, silencio insomne, espera entretejida de pálidos fantasmas que juegan a ser besos, dulzura sin apoyo, latido soterrado en el último pliegue del sueño más oculto. Amor, bruma y estrella, secreto paraíso que se gana y se pierde con la misma caricia: rinde a mi paso errante tus pórticos sin nombre. ¡Mi desnudez intacta se vestirá de ti! Si me niegas tu éxtasis, no me niegues tu herida. Doy el goce que enerva por el dardo que abrasa. Iníciame en la gloria de tu dolor más hondo y cantaré, muriendo, mi cántico inefable. Quizás no llegues nunca. Mi espíritu que vela aguarda sin cansarse tu signo misterioso. ¿En qué brisa nocturna florecen ya tus labios, en qué cenit de soles me impregnará tu unción?

Translation (English)

Love! You haven't arrived yet, but you already wrap around me completely, like a wounded rosebush. Make me stand tall! Let my dark roots soak up the juice that saves until they swell. Love, sleepless silence, a waiting interwoven with pale ghosts pretending to be kisses, sweetness without support, a hidden heartbeat in the deepest part of the most secret dream. Love, mist and star, a secret paradise that is won and lost with the same touch: open your nameless gates to my wandering steps. My untouched nakedness will be covered by you! If you deny me your ecstasy, don't deny me your wound. I trade the pleasure that weakens for the burning dart. Show me the glory of your deepest pain and I will sing, dying, my indescribable song. Maybe you'll never come. My watchful spirit waits tirelessly for your mysterious sign. In what night breeze do your lips already bloom, in what sunlit zenith will your blessing fill me?

About the Poet

Ernestina de Champourcín (Generation of '27)

Ernestina de Champourcín Morán de Loredo was a Spanish poet associated with the Generation of '27. She was born on July 10, 1905, in Vitoria-Gasteiz and passed away on March 27, 1999, in Madrid.

Read more on Wikipedia →

Historical Context

Literary Form
Free verse
When Written
1936
Background
The poem is part of Ernestina de Champourcín's collection 'Cántico Inútil', reflecting the emotional and existential themes common in her work during the pre-Civil War era in Spain.

Sources: https://es.scribd.com/document/1015317153/Analisis-Espera-Cantico-Inutil-1936, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernestina_de_Champourc%C3%ADn, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_poetry

Detailed Explanation

This poem by Ernestina de Champourcín explores the complex and often contradictory nature of love. The speaker addresses love as a powerful force that binds and transforms, even before it fully arrives. The imagery of a 'wounded rosebush' and 'dark root' suggests a deep, almost painful connection that is both redemptive and consuming. The poem reflects on love's duality as both a source of ecstasy and pain, a theme common in Champourcín's work. The speaker longs for the transformative power of love, even if it comes with suffering, and expresses a willingness to embrace both its joys and wounds. The poem's language is rich with metaphors, portraying love as a sleepless silence, a mist, a star, and a secret paradise. These images convey the elusive and ethereal nature of love, which is both a blessing and a torment. The poem concludes with a sense of longing and anticipation, as the speaker waits for love's mysterious arrival, highlighting the uncertainty and hope inherent in the human experience of love.

Themes

  • Love
  • Longing
  • Transformation
  • Duality of Pleasure and Pain

Literary Devices

  • Metaphor: Love is compared to a wounded rosebush and a secret paradise.
  • Imagery: Vivid descriptions of love as mist, star, and sleepless silence.
  • Personification: Love is given human-like qualities, such as binding and redeeming.
  • Symbolism: The rosebush and dark root symbolize deep emotional connections.

Word Dictionary

Word Meaning Translation Transliteration
¡Amor! ¡Cariño! Love! ¡A-mor!
Aún Todavía Still A-ún
no negación not no
has tú has you have has
llegado arribado arrived llegado
y e and y
ya ahora already ya
me a mí me me
ciñes aprietas bind ci-ñes
toda completamente completely to-da
ligándote atándote binding yourself li-gán-do-te
a a to a
mi mío my mi
cuerpo figura body cuer-po
como igual a like co-mo
un uno a un
rosal arbusto de rosas rosebush ro-sal
herido lastimado wounded he-ri-do
¡Enderézame ¡Corrígeme! Straighten me! ¡En-de-ré-za-me
tú! tú mismo you! tú!
Que Para que So that Que
raíz origen root ra-íz
obscura oscura dark obs-cu-ra
absorba chupa absorbs ab-sor-ba
hasta hasta que until has-ta
esponjarse inflarse swells es-pon-jar-se
el el the el
zumo jugo juice zu-mo
que el cual that que
redime. salva redeems re-di-me.
Amor, Cariño, Love, A-mor,
silencio calma silence si-len-cio
insomne, sin dormir, sleepless, in-som-ne,
espera esperanza waiting es-pe-ra
entretejida entrelazada interwoven en-tre-te-ji-da
de de of de
pálidos descoloridos pale pá-li-dos
fantasmas espectros ghosts fan-tas-mas
juegan actúan play jue-gan
ser estar being ser
besos, ósculos, kisses, be-sos,
dulzura suavidad sweetness dul-zu-ra
sin sin without sin
apoyo, soporte, support, a-po-yo,
latido pulso heartbeat la-ti-do
soterrado enterrado buried so-te-rra-do
en en in en
último final last úl-ti-mo
pliegue doblez fold plie-gue
del de el of the del
sueño ensoñación dream sue-ño
más más deepest más
oculto. escondido. hidden. o-cul-to.
bruma niebla mist bru-ma
estrella, astro, star, es-tre-lla,
secreto oculto secret se-cre-to
paraíso edén paradise pa-ra-í-so
se se will se
gana obtiene won ga-na
pierde desaparece lost pier-de
con junto con with con
la la the la
misma idéntica same mis-ma
caricia: caricia: caress: ca-ri-cia:
rinde cede yield rin-de
paso camino step pa-so
errante vagabundo wandering er-ran-te
tus tuyos your tus
pórticos entradas portals pór-ti-cos
nombre. nombre. nameless. nom-bre.
¡Mi ¡Mío My ¡Mi
desnudez desvestimiento nakedness des-nu-dez
intacta intocable intact in-tac-ta
vestirá cubrirá clothed ves-ti-rá
ti! tuyo! you! ti!
Si En caso de que If Si
niegas rechazas deny nie-gas
tu tuyo your tu
éxtasis, arrebato, ecstasy, éx-ta-sis,
niegues rechaces deny nie-gues
herida. lesión. wound. he-ri-da.
Doy Entrego I give Doy
goce placer pleasure go-ce
enerva debilita weakens e-ner-va
por a cambio de for por
dardo flecha dart dar-do
abrasa. quema. burns. a-bra-sa.
Iníciame Enséñame Initiate me I-ní-cia-me
gloria éxtasis glory glo-ria
dolor sufrimiento pain do-lor
hondo profundo deep hon-do
cantaré, entonaré, I will sing, can-ta-ré,
muriendo, falleciendo, dying, mu-rien-do,
cántico canción song cán-ti-co
inefable. indescriptible. ineffable. i-ne-fa-ble.
Quizás Tal vez Perhaps Qui-zás
llegues arribes arrive lle-gues
nunca. jamás. never. nun-ca.
Mi Mío My Mi
espíritu alma spirit es-pí-ri-tu
vela vigila vigilant ve-la
aguarda espera waits a-guar-da
cansarse fatigarse tirelessly can-sar-se
signo señal sign sig-no
misterioso. enigmático. mysterious. mis-te-rio-so.
¿En ¿En In ¿En
qué cuál what qué
brisa viento breeze bri-sa
nocturna de noche nocturnal noc-tur-na
florecen brotan bloom flo-re-cen
labios, bocas, lips, la-bios,
cenit punto más alto zenith ce-nit
soles estrellas suns so-les
impregnará llenará impregnate im-preg-na-rá
unción? bendición? anointing? un-ción?

Want to analyze your own poem?

Paste any poem in 180+ languages and get an instant AI-powered analysis with translation, explanation, poet biography, and literary devices.

Try Poetry Explainer — Free