Basque Poetry in English - Part 1 - Gure Oroitzapenak

Today I open a new section in this blog. I know that perfect translations don't exist. Even less so, when the translator (myself) is not a professional translator, and even less so (is that even possible?) when you attempt to translate poetry. But I will endeavour to translate and share some of the poetry that I've enjoyed since I was a kid and that has never (at least to my knowledge) been translated into English.


We open this section with Joseba Sarrionaindia's "Gure Oroitzapenak" (Our Memories).

Our memories,
Like the shafts of wood
Of the sinking ships,
Don't disappear to the depths of the sea,
Don't head to any harbour.

Our memories,
Like the shafts of wood
Of the sinking ships,
Float away on the sea forever
Driven by the waves
And with no direction

The poem was also turned to song by Mikel Laboa. See the video below.

1 comment:

  1. That's translated to English very very well, It feels like poetry still. excellent.

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