Skip to main content
Outdated Browser

For the best experience using our website, we recommend upgrading your browser to a newer version or switching to a supported browser.

More Information

Poetry

High Fidelity

By Raúl Rivero
Translated from Spanish by Diana Alvarez-Amell

They’ll be free from the gramophone’s pain,
its torture from the rub and the needles.

Chaste, they’ll not know the sin
of singing a capella while hungry
caught between the farce and the fair.

The men who stay at home
humming soft melodies
will acquire wisdom.

A fortunate life, serene happiness
will be theirs and their children’s.

As light as ash. As clear as eternity.

English

They’ll be free from the gramophone’s pain,
its torture from the rub and the needles.

Chaste, they’ll not know the sin
of singing a capella while hungry
caught between the farce and the fair.

The men who stay at home
humming soft melodies
will acquire wisdom.

A fortunate life, serene happiness
will be theirs and their children’s.

As light as ash. As clear as eternity.

Read Next