La Niña de Quince Años

 
THE GIRL OF FIFTEEN (1929)

Evaristo Ribera Chevremont
 
 
     Because the iris comes alive in its colors,
because the light of dew is amongst the grass,
because the rain laughs on the green leaf,
because the flower has grace in its stalk,
because the fruit is sweetened in its pulp,
because the sun in the sky is a burning flower,
because the sea multiplies its blues,
because the air swirls with more fervor,
because the little cloud turns pink,
because solitude becomes a bird,
because the earth transmutes into sky,
I know you have turned fifteen.
 
     Because your eyes hide a secret,
because God bears kisses upon your lips,
because tenderness grows in your hands,
because of the joy discovered in your breast,
because love has already started its rounds,
because dream and virtue follow you,
because life is life all around you,
because the world is lighter in your presence,
because the heart of the world is already yours,
because your heart is your only world,
I know you have turned fifteen.
 
     Because your blood is your greatest wealth
because your life comes from restlessness and blood,
because, in the investigation of the infinite,
your vigilance returns you to the stars,
because you want to find in the word
what silence has never revealed,
because you want what none can reach,
because you’re not in you, but in the way
you cradle what you have in your mind,
because the instinct to fly is in your spirit,
I know you have turned fifteen.
 
     Iris, dew and rain, flower and fruit,
sun, sea and air, little cloud and bird,
blood, star and word, voice and spirit
and heaven and earth in burning unity,
What is it? A universe only yours.
Because there is a universe only yours,
I know you have turned fifteen.
Fifteen years you, fifteen years your sisters.
Girls that become women. Years
that tally butterflies and mornings.
The spring gives you goodness through many channels.