English introduction, then short poem in Spanish, followed by prose renditions in English and French.

The other day WordPress informed me that someone from Santiago de Chile was now following Montaigbakhtinian, and the e-mail led me to a Gravatar page with a nice photo and a nice little self-description, in theory by this follower.

How much of all this was real or made up? I have no way of knowing. But I took the Gravatar text and a Spanish rhyming dictionary, and went to work. Please be clear, readers: the result—the five-line Spanish poem below—may have little or nothing to do with this Chilean woman (assuming she exists). (And my drawing, at right, is of quite another person.)

¿Es a nuestra imaginación a la que debemos agradecer por los momentos más agradables de nuestras vidas? It’s our imaginations we must thank for the most enjoyable moments of our lives? And so would you thank social media for indulging your fantasies? ¿Le agradecería a los medios sociales por satisfacer sus fantasías?

Cordially, William Eaton

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Las palabras son un nido acunado por el viento

¿Quién no desconfiaría de las olas susurrantes?
El canto el más seductor es a veces lo más suave.
Oigo el llanto de diamantes mientras brilla el carbón.
Las palabras son un nido acunado por el viento.
Que la distancia nos lleve a tus cositas ricas.
 
Prose rendition in English: Who wouldn’t mistrust the whispering waves? The most seductive song is sometimes the softest. I hear diamonds crying while coal shines. Words are a nest cradled by the wind. May distance bring us both to your delights.

Version en français (et réduite à la prose): Qui ne se méfierait pas des ondes murmurantes ? La chanson la plus séduisante est parfois la plus douce. J’entends le cri des diamants pendant que le charbon brille. Les mots sont un nid bercé par le vent. Que la distance nous amène tous les deux à tes délices.