Que Son Esas Palabras

What Are Those Words

Que Son Esas Palabras

Twenty years they lived together, side by side,Veinte años vivieron el uno junto al otro,
twenty years of thistle and grain, of threshing,veinte años de cardo de cereal y de trilla,
the mill wheel kept time,la rueda del molino, acompasaba las horas
and winter slept in the yellow ivy.y el invierno dormia en la hiedra amarilla.
He took care of everything, with quiet prudence,El cuidaba de todo, con prudencia callada,
both the livestock and the fine harvest,lo mismo los ganados, que la cosecha fina,
she crossed the courtyard, like a spur wheel,ella cruzaba el patio, como rueda de espuela,
between the water well and the flour table.entre el pozo de agua, la mesa de harina.
In harsh winters, in sunny summers,En inviernos atroces, en veranos soleados,
for twenty years, they kept each other company,durante veinte años, se hicieron compañia,
she never asked if he had loved her,nunca se preguntó, si la habia querido,
what are those words, she was there and he had her.que son esas palabras, estaba y la tenia.
He didn't need a more detailed notion,El no necesitaba noción mas detallada,
than knowing her name, and he knew the name,que conocer su nombre, y el nombre lo sabia,
he called her Carmen in the shadow and the evening,él la llamaba Carmen en la sombra y la tarde,
when the light is a late wick lamp.cuando la luz es lámpara de mecha tardia.
Twenty years they lived together, side by side,Veinte años vivieron el uno junto al otro,
hardly seeing a doctor, laborer, settler, artist,sin ver apenas médico, peón, colono, artista,
the train passed far away like a childhood tale,el tren pasaba lejos como un cuento de infancia,
and he never wondered if he truly loved her.y el no se preguntaba si en verdad la queria.
She died while polishing the silverware,Ella murio lustrando la vajilla de plata,
in the wide silence of the empty afternoon,en el ancho silencio de la tarde vacia,
he suddenly learned, like frost falls,el aprendio de golpe, como caen las heladas,
that love is love, even if it's not said.que el amor es amor, aunque no se lo diga.