From the Spanish of Luis Cernuda
Turn around? He returns who has learned
After long years, and a long journey,
He is tired of the road and now he thirsts
For his home, for his land, for his friends,
For the faithful love expecting his return.
But you? Turn around? Going back is not a thought,
Your fate is to be free to journey onward,
Forever unattached, whether you are young or old,
Without a son to search for you, as one looked for Ulysses,
Without a waiting Ithaca, without Penelope.
Go on, go forward and not back,
Be faithful to the end of the road and of your life,
Don’t settle for an easier destination,
Put your feet on soil that never has been trodden,
Fix your eyes on what has not been seen before.
