Madre, cuéntame todo lo que sabes por tus viejos dolores. Cuéntame cómo nace y cómo viene su cuerpecillo, entrabado con mis vísceras. Dime si buscará solo mi pecho o si se lo debo ofrecer, incitándolo. Dame tu ciencia de amor, ahora, madre. Enséñame las nuevas caricias, delicadas, más delicadas que las del esposo. ¿Cómo limpiaré su cabecita, en los días sucesivos? ¿Y cómo lo liaré para no dañarlo? Enséñame, madre, la canción de cuna con que me meciste. Esa lo hará dormir mejor que otras canciones.
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Confirmed with Gabriela Mistral, Desolación: Poemas, New York : Instituto de las Españas de los Estados Unidos, 1922, p.183
Text Authorship:
- by Lucila de María del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga (1889 - 1957), as Gabriela Mistral, "Cuéntame, madre...", appears in Desolación, in 2. Prosa, in 3. Poemas de las madres, no. 15, first published 1922 [author's text checked 1 time 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 German (Deutsch), a translation by Albert Theile , "Mutter, erzähl mir", copyright © and by Gisela Pape , "Mutter, erzähl mir", copyright © ; composed by Sylke Zimpel.
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-01-03
Line count: 10
Word count: 86
Mutter, erzähl mir alles, was du durch deine alten Schmerzen weißt [ ... ]
Text Authorship:
- by Albert Theile (1904 - 1986), "Mutter, erzähl mir", copyright © [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Gisela Pape , "Mutter, erzähl mir", copyright © [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Spanish (Español) by Lucila de María del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga (1889 - 1957), as Gabriela Mistral, "Cuéntame, madre...", appears in Desolación, in 2. Prosa, in 3. Poemas de las madres, no. 15, first published 1922
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Sylke Zimpel (b. 1959), "Mutter, erzähl mir", copyright © 1999 [ women's chorus ], from Gedichte der Mütter, no. 6, Frankfurt am Main : Edition Ferrimontana
Publisher: Musikal Spezial [external link] [sung text checked 1 time]
This text was added to the website: 2026-01-03
Line count: 10
Word count: 121