by Pedro Serrano (b. 1957)
Translation by Anna Crowe (b. 1945)

A los lunáticos
Language: Spanish (Español) 
A los lunáticos
hay que encerrarlos siempre en estos días,
los candados que pesen y ni un solo visillo para la luz, lunar alucinante,

A los lunáticos,
que el corazón les come el alma en estas noches,
aunque haya nubes,
aunque haya cielo bajo y enterrado, encapotado en sí, a los lunáticos
hay que vaciarles ojos y lengua para que no se ahoguen y se hundan,
para que no
se vayan
como una láctea vía que fuera luz y huella,
como si la saliva les huyera,
como si en ellos en ella fueran y en esta vista despavorida,
a los lunáticos, ay,
habría que acompañarlos de la mano
para que no se pierdan y se ofusquen,
ay, a los lunáticos.

Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

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Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-11-23
Line count: 17
Word count: 120

As for the moonstruck
Language: English  after the Spanish (Español) 
As for the moonstruck,
they must be always locked up on these days,
let padlocks be heavy and not a single net curtain for the moon’s illusive light,

for the moonstruck,
whose heart devours their spirit on these nights,
though there may be clouds,
though the sky may lower, overcast, muffled up in itself, the moonstruck
must have their eyes gouged and tongue torn out so that they do not drown, 
confounded,
so that they do not
wander off
like a milky way that might be light and footprint,
as though their saliva might flee from them,
as though they were within her and in that terrifying light,
as for the moonstruck, oh,
they should be led by the hand
so that they do not get lost or be blinded,
alas, the poor moonstruck.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Based on:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]


Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-11-23
Line count: 18
Word count: 134