The Rose Of My Echoing Country

Beethoven: Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano
Yo-Yo Ma / Itzhak Perlman / Daniel Barenboim



take bread away from me
if you wish
take air away
but do not take from me
your laughter

do not take away the rose
the lance flower
that you pluck
the water that suddenly
bursts forth in joy
the sudden wave of silver
born in you

my struggle is harsh
and i come back
with eyes tired
at times from having seen
the unchanging earth
but when your laughter enters
it rises to the sky
seeking me
and it opens for me
all the doors of life

my love
in the darkest hour
your laughter opens
and if suddenly
you see my blood staining
the stones of the street
laugh, because your laughter
will be for my hands
like a fresh sword

next to the sea
in the autumn
your laughter must raise
its foamy cascade
and in the spring, love
i want your laughter like
the flower i was waiting for
the blue flower
the rose
of my echoing country

laugh at the night
at the day
at the moon
laugh at the twisted
streets of the island
laugh at this clumsy
fool who loves you
but when i open
my eyes and close them
when my steps go
when my steps return
deny me bread
air, light, spring
but never your laughter

--pablo neruda