Plaza / Cruz: La noche del llano abajo
The Night on the Plain Below
The fire was spreading its blanket,
Its red blanket o'er th' embankment,
Thinking it might become chilly
When night fell on the plain below.
The night encroached, running its course
Over the barbarous terrain.
Seeing itself quake with fever,
It threw itself down the ravine.
Along the treacherous passage
I ventured there to find my way,
And I encountered the lifeless night
Spreading over the plain below.
Juan Bautista Plaza : from Siete canciones venezolanas (1932)
Original Spanish poem by Venezuelan poet Luís Barrios Cruz (1898-1968)
--English version ©2012, by E. Lein