Tu pupila es azul, y cuando ríes,
Su claridad süave me recuerda
El trémulo fulgor de la mañana
	Que en el mar se refleja.

  Tu pupila es azul, y cuando lloras,
Las transparentes lágrimas en ella
Se me figuran gotas de rocío
	Sobre una violeta.

  Tu pupila es azul, y si en su fondo,
Como un punto de luz radia una idea,
Me parece en el cielo de la tarde
	¡Una perdida estrella!

Note: inspired by Byron's I saw thee weep; sometimes given the title "Imitación de Byron"

The spelling variant "ries" in line 1 has been changed to "ríes".
The spelling variant "süave" in line 2 has been preserved to indicate the poetic diaeresis pronunciation.
The spelling variant "rádia" in line 12 has been changed to "radia".

Composition:

Set to music by Joaquín Turina (1882 - 1949), "Tu pupila es azul", op. 81 no. 2 (1933), published 1935 [ soprano and piano ], from Tres poemas, no. 2, Madrid : UME

Text Authorship:

• by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836 - 1870), no title, appears in Rimas, no. 13, Madrid, Imprenta de T. Fortanet, first published 1871

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ENG English (Laura Claycomb) , "Your eye is blue", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Tes yeux sont bleus", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Dein Augenstern ist blau", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , John Versmoren , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 75