Centre for Romanian Studies

Poetry in Translation (CLXXI): Ar-Ruşāfī de Valencia (XIIth c.), Hispano-Arab Poet – “Una tarde clara”, “A clear evening”, “O seară senină”

Una tarde clara
Ar-Ruşāfī de Valencia (s. XII)

ERA una tarde clara que pasamos
entre copas de vino;
al descender, el sol
unía su mejilla con la tierra,
alzaba el céfiro los mantos de las colinas
y el cielo era una espada refulgente.
¡Qué buen lugar para beber,
donde sólo nos ven esas palomas,
las aves que gorjean
y una rama cimbreante,
mientras la oscuridad se bebe
el licor rojo del crepúsculo!

(Versión de Carlos Alvar y Jenaro Talens)
…………………………………………………….

A clear evening
Ar-Rusafi of Valencia (XIIth c.)

IT WAS a clear evening that we spend
between glasses of wine;
in its decline, the Sun
was joining its cheek with the earth,
the Zephyr was lifting the mantles of the hills
and the sky was a refulgent sword.
What a good place to drink,
where only these doves look at us,
the birds that are they trilling
and a bending branch,
while the darkness drinks the red liquor of the twilight!

Ce plăcut e sa bem un pahar de vin,
în ciripit de vrăbii
si de turturele
la umbra acestui pom bătrân
sorbind vinul roşu al serii.

O seară senină
Ar-Rusafi din Valencia
(poet Hispano-Arab, sec. XII)

O seară senină
la un pahar de vorbă;
în amurg, soarele
linge faţa văii,
iar zefirul ridică roba munţilor
sub un cer de sabie sclipind.
Ce plăcut e sa bem un pahar de vin,
în ciripit de vrăbii
si de turturele
la umbra acestui pom bătrân
sorbind vinul roşu al serii.

(Rendered in Romanian by Constantin ROMAN, London,
© 2013 Copyright Constantin ROMAN)

¡Qué buen lugar para beber,
donde sólo nos ven esas palomas,
las aves que gorjean
y una rama cimbreante,
mientras la oscuridad se bebe
el licor rojo del crepúsculo!

Note of acknowledgement:
This is to address my grateful thanks to my flickr friend RAY of Madrid for bringing to my attention this poem and sharing with me the enthusiasm for Hispanic-Arab poetry.