The month of May has begun, and with its arrival I have remembered a beautiful, small and melancholic poem by the great Galician writer.<\/p>\n
In 1880 it was published in the collection of poems \"Follas novas\" (New sheets) by Rosal\u00eda de Castro. This work was written in Galician when she lived in Simancas (Valladolid)<\/strong>, after her husband, Manuel Murgu\u00eda, was appointed director of the General Archive of the Kingdom of Spain, based in that town. That collection of poems included Rosal\u00eda's most famous poem, \"Negra sombra\" (Black shadow)<\/a>, on page 52. A few pages later the poem that concerns us now appeared. You can read it here written in the Galician of that time<\/strong> (which used the letter y, since the Middle Ages, by the way):<\/p>\n \"Mayo longo... Mayo longo, Mayo longo, Mayo longo, You can read its English translation here:<\/strong><\/p>\n \"Long May... Long May, Long May, Long May, The poem captures the sadness that invaded Rosal\u00eda's life due to a mixture of circumstances: <\/strong> her propensity for illness, the death a few years before of two of her children, and also the longing for her homeland. The third verse speaks of \"death cloths\" (that is, shrouds)<\/strong> and the fourth speaks of \"wedding cloths\" (the wedding dress and the groom's suit), as a contrast between the joy of some and the sadness of others.<\/p>\n There have been very good versions of this poem set to music. In 1997, Amancio Prada, from Le\u00f3n, published this version accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic of Galicia<\/strong>, under the baton of Maximino Zumalave:<\/p>\n
\n
\nTodo cuberto de rosas,
\nPara alg\u00fas telas de morte,
\nPara outros telas de bodas.<\/p>\n
\nFuches curto para min,
\nVeu contigo a mi\u00f1a dicha,
\nVolveu contigo \u00e1 fuxir\".<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nAll covered in roses
\nFor some death cloths,
\nFor other wedding cloths.<\/p>\n
\nYou were short for me
\nMy happiness came with you
\nIt came back with you to run away\".<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n