Peter is right that the original Spanish is beautiful. For those of us 
who are a little lean on the high school Spanish, Robert Bly did quite a 
good job of translating, below. He translated a book of Machado poems 
and has a body of fine work of his own.
Mea

Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt -- marvelous error!—
that a spring was breaking
out in my heart.
I said: Along which secret aqueduct,
Oh water, are you coming to me,
water of a new life
that I have never drunk?

      Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt -- marvelous error!—
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.

      Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt -- marvelous error!—
that a fiery sun was giving
light inside my heart.
It was fiery because I felt
warmth as from a hearth,
and sun because it gave light
and brought tears to my eyes.

      Last night, as I slept,
I dreamt -- marvelous error!—
that it was God I had
here inside my heart.



Peter L Borst wrote:
> Diana wrote:
>> Can the un-translated poem be posted?  I can read Spanish and the poem will
>> make better sense un-translated.  
> 
> Anoche cuando dormía 
> 
> Anoche cuando dormía 
> soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!, 
> que una fontana fluía 
> dentro de mi corazón. 
> Di, ¿por qué acequia escondida, 
> agua, vienes hasta mí, 
> manantial de nueva vida 
> de donde nunca bebí? 
> 
> Anoche cuando dormía 
> soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!, 
> que una colmena tenía 
> dentro de mi corazón; 
> y las doradas abejas 
> iban fabricando en él, 
> con las amarguras viejas 
> blanca cera y dulce miel. 
> 
> Anoche cuando dormía 
> soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!, 
> que un ardiente sol lucía 
> dentro de mi corazón. 
> Era ardiente porque daba 
> calores de rojo hogar, 
> y era sol porque alumbraba 
> y porque hacía llorar. 
> 
> Anoche cuando dormía 
> soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!, 
> que era Dios lo que tenía 
> dentro de mi corazón. 
> 
> Antonio Machado
> 
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