Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer – Rhyme XXXIX

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres,Jupiter and Thetis, 1811

You were the storm and I the lofty tower
 that dared defy your power;
 you had to dash yourself against my wall
 or hurl me to my fall, —
 it could not be !
You were the ocean, I the firm, grim rock
 that e’er withstood your shock ;
you had to root me up or roll and roar
and break upon the shore, —
it could not be !
You, beautiful, were wont to win the field,
I, proud, to never yield ;
 narrow the path, the shock none could endure
 inevitably sure, —
it could not be !

Tu eri l’uragano e io l’alta torre che sfida il suo potere:
 dovevi schiantarti o abbattermi…
Non era possibile!
Tu eri l’oceano e io la eretta roccia
 che salda attende il suo ondeggiare:
dovevi rifrangerti o sradicarmi!
Non era possibile!
Bella tu, io altero;
abituati l’una a travolgere, l’altro a non cedere;
il sentiero stretto, inevitabile
 lo scontro…
Non era possibile!