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by Pablo Neruda (1904 - 1973)
Translation by Clayton Eshleman (1935 - 2021)

Unidad
Language: Spanish (Español) 
Hay algo denso, unido, sentado en el fondo,
repitiendo su número, su señal idéntica.
Cómo se nota que las piedras han tocado el tiempo,
en su fina materia hay olor a edad,
y el agua que trae el mar, de sal y sueño.

Me rodea una misma cosa, un solo movimiento:
el peso del mineral, la luz de la miel,
se pegan al sonido de la palabra noche:
la tinta del trigo, del marfil, del llanto,
envejecidas, desteñidas, uniformes,
se unen en torno a mí como paredes.

Trabajo sordamente, girando sobre mí mismo,
como el cuervo sobre la muerte, el cuervo de luto.
Pienso, aislado en lo extremo de las estaciones,
central, rodeado de geografía silenciosa:
una temperatura parcial cae del cielo,
un extremo imperio de confusas unidades
se reúne rodeándome.

Text Authorship:

  • by Pablo Neruda (1904 - 1973), "Unidad", written 1925-1932, appears in Residencia en la tierra [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

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 ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, a translation by Clayton Eshleman (1935 - 2021) , "Unity" ; composed by Frieda Gustavs.
    • Go to the text.

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

This text was added to the website: 2026-03-07
Line count: 18
Word count: 131

There is something dense, united,...
Language: English  after the Spanish (Español) 
There is something dense, united, settled in the depths,
repeating its number, its identical sign.
How it is noted that stones have touched time,
in their refined matter there is an odor of age,
of water brought by the sea, from salt and sleep.
 
I'm encircled by a single thing, a single movement: 
a mineral weight, a honeyed light
cling to the sound of the word "noche":
the tint of wheat, of ivory, of tears,
things of leather, of wood, of wool,
archaic, faded, uniform,
collect around me like walls.

I work quietly, wheeling over myself,
a crow over death, a crow in mourning.
I mediate, isolated in the spread of seasons,
centric, encircled by a silent geometry:
a partial temperature drifts down from the sky,
a distant empire of confused unities
reunites encircling me.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Clayton Eshleman (1935 - 2021), "Unity" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Spanish (Español) by Pablo Neruda (1904 - 1973), "Unidad", written 1925-1932, appears in Residencia en la tierra
    • Go to the text page.

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

  • by Frieda Gustavs (b. 1996), "United" [ voice and guitar ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

This text was added to the website: 2026-03-07
Line count: 19
Word count: 135

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