León Felipe: «I want… I dream…»

León Felipe is one of the best
poets in Spanish language. Born in Zamora in 1884, he came to poetry at
the age of 31. He also translated the work of Walt Whitman to Spanish.
His poetry work has a well defined themes and symbols: as themes, there
always present a great worry about justice, inside a kind of anarchyst
thinking, and a great affinity with the humble people. These themes
make that León Felipe colaborates in the intllectual front of the
Spanish Republic during the Civil War, although he was in America. As
symbols, he adopted two well specifically: don Quixote and Christ, he
makes both be in one under the idea of universal justice. After war, he
makes a hard resistance against Franco’s regime through his poetry from
his stance at Mexico, where he died in 1968. During the Regime’s years,
the Spanish youth took his poems, instead they were prohibited some
time, as a symbol of resistance, and a lot of songwritters and
folk-groups, as Paco Ibáñez, Adolfo Celdrán or Aguaviva, made songs
with some of his best poems.

Quiero… Sueño…

No me contéis más cuentos,
que vengo de muy lejos
y sé todos los cuentos.
No me contéis más cuentos.
Contad
y recontadme este sueño.
Romped,
rompedme los espejos.
Deshacedme los estanques,
los lazos,
los anillos,
los cercos,
las redes,
las trampas
y todos los caminos paralelos.
Que no quiero,
que no quiero,
que no quiero,
que no quiero que me arrullen con cuentos,
Que no quiero,
Que no quiero,
Que no quiero,
Que no quiero que me sellen la boca y los ojos con cuentos,
que no quiero,
que no quiero,
que no quiero,
que no quiero que me entierren con cuentos,
que no quiero,
que no quiero,
que no quiero,
que no quiero verme clavado en el tiempo,
que no quiero verme en el agua,
que no quiero verme en la tierra tampoco,
que no quiero, a su ovillo, como un hilo de barba sujeto.
Quiero verme en el viento,
quiero verme en el viento,
quiero verme en el viento,
quiero verme en el viento…
quiero… ¡quiero!… sueño… ¡sueño!
Soy gusano que sueña… y sueño
verme un día volando en el viento.

I want… I dream…

Don’t tell me more tales,/ because I come from far away/ and I know every tale./ Tell/ and tell again this tale./ Break/ break all the mirrors to me./ Undo the pond to me,/ the ties,/ the rings,/ the circles,/ the webs/ and the traps/ and the parallel roads./ For I don’t want,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want they lull asleep me with tales,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want they seal me the mouth and the eyes with tales,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want they bury me with tales,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want,/ for I don’t want to see myself nailed in the Time,/ for I don’t want to see myself on the water,/ for I don’t want neither to see myself on the soil,/ for I don’t want, to a ball of wool, tide like a bear yarn./ I want to see myself on the wind,/ I want to see myself on the wind,/ I want to see myself on the wind,/ I want to see myself on the wind…/ I want… I want!… I dream…/ I’m a worm that is dreaming… and I dream/ to see myself one day flying on the wind.

León Felipe

(Llamadme publicano)