Poetry by Antonio Machado (Last Night as I was Sleeping)

In this poem Antonio Machado articulates his deep inner spiritual life. His use of such powerful and beautiful can not help but capture his audience. I. In fact, his first major work, Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair remains his most popular work. It was somewhat of a scandal at the first publishing as he was only 19 years old when he wrote it. In this poem the metaphors are unleashed and we see the rich inner world Neruda resided in and was able to pull out for his audience.
Drawn to poetry at a very young age his talent flourished in his late teens when he began traveling in circles brimming with the creative elite - from the Bohemians and symbolist poets in Madrid and Paris - to Generation 98 - a literary movement featuring prominent novelists, poets, and philosophers committed to a cultural renewal of Spain.
Machado had an uncanny ability to weave the myriad of new genres circulating throughout Europe into his own unique voice which evolved over time. His earliest work is expressed in a more free-form style. it is infused with metaphor which he brings to life through memory and dreams.
Last Night as I was Sleeping
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.
A link to another classic Neruda love poem - From Love Sonnets - Poema 20:
Translated by: Robert Bly
Recited by: Robert Bly
Footage: Various
Music: Drone Five / Composers: Hoppe, Michael; Tillmann, Martin; Wheater, Tim
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