The Orange Blossom Tanka
Such simple beauty,
orange blossom, perfect scent.
your flavour’s subtle.
What a miracle it would be
to hear you sing!
Belleza simple,
azahar, perfecto aroma.
Tu sabor, sutil.
¡Qué milagro sería
que nos pudieras cantar!
This is a very, very odd one because the syllable count fits in both languages.
When I say in the UK that I come from Seville, people smile and say, “oh, like the oranges”. Orange trees grow on the sidewalks, but their fruit is inedible. The sweet ones are in groves just outside town. All types have a pearly-white star-shaped blossom that makes the whole city smell from March to May as if it had taken a bath and then sprayed on a generous dose of the perfume the gods wear on very special occasions.
I miss that madly, although the bottle of Carmen perfume that I got for Christmas helps a bit.
orange blossom, perfect scent.
your flavour’s subtle.
What a miracle it would be
to hear you sing!
Belleza simple,
azahar, perfecto aroma.
Tu sabor, sutil.
¡Qué milagro sería
que nos pudieras cantar!
This is a very, very odd one because the syllable count fits in both languages.
When I say in the UK that I come from Seville, people smile and say, “oh, like the oranges”. Orange trees grow on the sidewalks, but their fruit is inedible. The sweet ones are in groves just outside town. All types have a pearly-white star-shaped blossom that makes the whole city smell from March to May as if it had taken a bath and then sprayed on a generous dose of the perfume the gods wear on very special occasions.
I miss that madly, although the bottle of Carmen perfume that I got for Christmas helps a bit.
Comentario:
Ahora mismo los naranjos están cargadísimos de fruta, pero exuberantes: no sólo las naranjas están gordísimas, sino que parece que las copas de los árboles estuviesen aún más cargadas de hojas que de costumbre. Debe ser que no los han podado, a saber. No obstante, mi padre dice que es una pena que ahora recojan todas las naranjas y las tiren, porque antiguamente se hacían compotas y mermeladas con esas naranjas amargas y resultaban exquisitas. Besos