A noite máis longa / The longest night


A noite máis longa

Cálidas cores,
frescura na pel,
sabor a castañas
e a noces con mel.

Buxaina que xira,
historia espiral,
retorno continuo
que nunca é igual.

Lindan outono e inverno
neste máxico momento.
A luz baixa que dá o sol
escoa entre núas pólas.
É o tempo
das sombras longas.

Cálidas cores…

A Terra tempera o seu sono
cun rubio cobertor de follas.
Ventos do nordés ou do vendaval
traen recendo e salseiros de mar.
E se o vento para:
friaxe e xeada.

Cálidas cores…

Canta menos luz da lúa
máis astros vexo no ceo.
Caza Orión na noite escura
do inmenso e vello Universo.

Catro mil millóns de anos
ten a nave en que viaxamos.
Somos un leve suspiro
no seu longo percorrido.

Cálidas cores…

Has espertar deste inverno
Nai e Terra xenerosa
e no teu xirar eterno
has lembrar a historia nosa
coa túa calma, sen apego.

Cálidas cores…



The longest night

Warm colours surround us,
fresh air on our skin
The taste of chestnuts, walnuts
and honey within.

Whirligigs spin
and history spirals again
we return to the scene,
but nothing seems the same.

This magical moment marks the frontier line
from autumn to winter.
As the sun’s light sieves
through the naked branches
it is time
for long shadows.

Warm colours…

Our Earth keeps warm,
sleeping under a blanket of rusty red leaves.
Winds from the southwest and the northeast
bring aromas and salt from the sea.
And if the wind stops:
The cold and frost begin.

Warm colours…

As the light from the moon diminishes
More stars in the sky can be seen.
Orion hunts in the dark night
of this ancient and immense universe.

We travel on a spaceship
that is four billion years old.
We are only a light murmur
on its journey, that is long.

Warm colours…

You will wake up from this winter,
Generous and kind Mother Earth,
and turning around endlessly,
you’ll remember our history
calmly continuing, without longing.

Warm colours…


Ermitas García Ríos (English translation/adaptation by Karen Leimdorfer)

Photo by Marc Clinton Labiano on Unsplash