Centre for Romanian Studies

Poetry in Translation (CCCLXXXI): Rosalia de CASTRO (1837-1885) SPAIN/GALICIA: “He Who Weeps Goes Not Alone”, “Cel ce plange nu-i singur”

Rosalia de Castro

He Who Weeps Goes Not Alone

He who weeps goes not alone,
Keep flowing, I beg of you, my tears!
A single burden suffices the soul;
One joy is never, never enough.

Destiny’s plaything, humble speck,
sad and lost I stray;
Nevertheless I carry all with me:
I carry sorrow for company.

(English version by Kate Flores)

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Rosalia de CASTRO
(1837-1885)

Cel ce plânge nu-i singur….

Cel ce plânge nu-i singur mereu,
Voi, lacrimi, să curgeţi din plin!
O singură jale este mult prea puţin;
Căci ferice să fi este greu.

Când destinul hain, mă-nconvoaie din plin,
Sufletul e pierdut pe cărare;
Resemnată păşesc spre destinul divin:
Când amarul mă-ndreaptă spre zare.

Versiune în limba Română de Constantin ROMAN, Londra
© 2016 Copyright Constantin ROMAN, London

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SHORT BIO: María Rosalía Rita DE CASTRO, better known as Rosalía de Castro (24 February 1837 – 15 July 1885), was a Galician romantic writer poet and feminist.

Writing in the Galician language, after the Séculos Escuros (lit. Dark Centuries), she became an important figure of the Galician romantic movement, known today as the Rexurdimento (“renaissance”), along with Manuel Curros Enríquez and Eduardo Pondal. Her poetry is marked by ‘saudade’, an almost ineffable combination of nostalgia, longing and melancholy.

She married Manuel Murguía, member of the Galician Academy, historian, journalist and editor of Rosalía’s books. (Her married name was Rosalía Castro de Murguía) The couple had seven children but no surviving descendants. Their son Ovidio Murguia de Castro (b. ca 1871 – 1900) was a good painter, but, unfortunately, he died before he was 30 years of age.

Rosalía de Castro published her first collection of poetry in Galician, Cantares gallegos (“Galician Songs”), May 17, 1863, is commemorated every year as the Día das Letras Galegas (“Galician Literature Day”), an official holiday of the Autonomous Community of Galicia, and has been dedicated to an important writer in the Galician language since 1963. She had a strong sense of commitment to the poor and to the defenceless and was an opponent of abuse of authority and defender of women’s rights. Her image appeared on the 500 peseta Spanish banknote.