On the catafalque in honor of Queen Margarita in Córdoba
Funerary construct, of this life
you record change, yourself remaining still;
a pyre, though not of aromatic groves,
yet for a more exalted Phoenix built;
a mighty ship on whose resplendent mast
daughters of a better Leda, stars,
make Fortune tranquil, having of her wheel
full recognized the fickle calendars,
a shining beacon are you which directs
our reason, perishing against the reefs,
to shore; and yet although your brightness stuns,
you are the dark shell of a Margarite
in mercy ruby, diamond, too, in faith,
reborn in a new Dawn to a new Sun.
Translated by Alix Ingber
