ESPRIU, Salvador


Oh, que cansat estic de la meva covarda, vella, tan salvatge terra (Catalunya)

Oh, how tired am I of this

cowardly, old, so wild land of mine,

and how would I like to get away from it,

north and beyond,

where they say people are clean

and noble, educated, rich, free,

awake and happy!

Then, at the congregation,

brethren would say, disapprovingly:

"As the bird that leaves its nest,

so the man who leaves his place",

while I, already far away, would laugh

at the law and old wisdom

of this arid people of mine...

But I shall never dare follow my dream

and here will I remain until my death.

For I am also cowardly and wild

And above all, I love

with such a desperate pain

this poor,

dirty, sad, ill-fated land of mine.