Translation talk:Ars
I propose a somewhat different translation. There are differing versions of the spanish poem on the internet, but I have translated the one I think makes the most sense. I think the prior translator has "beso" instead of "vaso" in the first line, and maybe "hasta" instead of "basta" in the last. I think the words I have chosen fit better with the meaning of the poem.
Poetry is a sacred vessel; put into it just one pure thought / in whose depths images simmer energetically / like bubbles of gold in an old dark wine! /
Pour into it flowers, that in the continuous fight / the cold withered from the world, / delicious memories of times that do not return, / and spikenards soaked with drops of dew. /
In order to embalm miserable existence / as if by an unknown essence, / burning in the fire of the inspired soul, / of that supreme balm one drop is enough!