9 Fascinating Spanish Poems to Make You Fall in Love with Spanish

In “The Pocket book,” Noah’s dad encourages him to apply studying poetry to assist him overcome the stutter he had as a baby.

Why on earth is that this related to Spanish?

A stutter is oftentimes rooted in uncertainty or insecurity in talking—one thing each Spanish learner can establish with.

The excellent news is, all of those emotions may be channeled right into a productive outlet, like studying poetry and studying extra Spanish.

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Douglas Wright is a well-known author of kids’s poetry from Argentina. His easy language and building of images as perceived by a baby makes it start line for Spanish learners to get their toes moist.

Studying a language after our first places us again onto the identical sq. as kids, seeing the world with new and appreciative eyes, with lots of inquiries to boot.

Beneath are three poems by Wright that provide a terrific combine of images, vocabulary and brevity for the Spanish learner endeavoring to memorize poetry.

1. “Bien tomados de la mano” (Holding Arms Firmly) by Douglas Wright

Qué lindo que es caminar, 
bien tomados de la mano, 
por el barrio, por la plaza, 
¿qué sé yo?, por todos lados.

Qué lindo es mirar los árboles, 
bien tomados de la mano, 
desde el banco de la plaza, 
en el que estamos sentados.

Qué lindo es mirar el cielo 
bien tomados de la mano; 
en nuestros ojos, volando, 
dos pájaros reflejados. 

Qué lindo que es caminar 
bien tomados de la mano; 
¡qué lindo, andar por la vida 
de la mano bien tomados! 

How good it’s to stroll,
holding arms firmly,
by means of the neighborhood, by means of the plaza,
What do I do know?, in every single place.

How good it’s to take a look at the bushes,
holding arms firmly,
from the bench within the plaza,
by which we’re sitting.

How good it’s to take a look at the sky
holding arms firmly;
in our eyes, flying,
two mirrored birds.

How good it’s to stroll
holding arms firmly;
how good, to stroll by means of life
with arms held firmly!

This candy poem about strolling hand in hand with somebody helps you be taught lots of helpful day after day vocabulary.

Plus, the repetition together with enjoyable, infantile imagery, like taking a look at bushes, trying on the sky and taking a look at reflections, makes it very straightforward to memorize. In the event you do wish to memorize poems although, be sure to break it up into 4 totally different sections to make it simpler.

2. “Bajo la luna” (Beneath the Moon) by Douglas Wright

Todos callados,
bajo la luna; 
el bosque, el lago, 
el cerro, el monte, 
bajo la luna,
todos callados. 

Everyone seems to be quiet,
beneath the moon;
the forest, the lake,
the hill, the mountain,
beneath the moon,
everyone seems to be quiet.

This fast, fairly poem is totally about appreciating the silence. It begins and opens with the identical phrase, that means “everyone seems to be quiet” after which lists every thing that’s quiet on this night time. A enjoyable and quick one to have caught in your head all day (or week).

3. “El brillo de las estrellas” (The Shine of the Stars) by Douglas Wright

Mejor que todos los fuegos 
que llaman artificiales, 
el brillo de las estrellas, 
esos fuegos naturales. 

Higher than all fires
they name synthetic,
the shine of the celebrities,
these pure fires.

 This candy poem concerning the brilliance of the celebrities additionally brings up a few phrases most Spanish learners most likely gained’t know, however these will certainly turn out to be useful across the fourth of July. Can you determine methods to say “fireworks” from context clues? (Reply: fuegos artificiales.)

4. “Cancioncilla sevillana” (Seville Tune) by Federico García Lorca

Amanecía 
en el naranjel. 
Abejitas de oro 
buscaban la miel. 
¿Dónde estará
la miel? 
Está en la flor azul,
Isabel. 
En la flor, 
del romero aquel. 

(Sillita de oro 
para el moro. 
Silla de oropel 
para su mujer.) 
Amanecía 
en el naranjel. 

Daybreak
within the orange grove.
Golden bees
have been searching for honey.
The place might it’s,
the honey?
It’s within the blue flower,
Isabel.
Within the flower,
of that rosemary.

(Gold chair
for the Moor.
Tinsel chair
for his spouse.)
Daybreak
within the orange grove.

Playwright and poet Federico García Lorca was born within the Andalusia area of Spain. He was the son of a rich landowner and grew up surrounded by the fantastic thing about the land he liked.

The countryside influenced his poetry. “Cancioncilla Sevillana” attracts from nature, along with his point out of orange bushes, bees and honey. However the poet additionally names a lady, leaving the reader to surprise simply precisely what the writer had in thoughts.

This poem is brief and candy, which makes it superb for Spanish language learners because it’s not overwhelming!

5. “Viento, agua, piedra”  (Wind, Water, Stone) by Octavio Paz

A Roger Caillois 
El agua horada la piedra, 
el viento dispersa el agua, 
la piedra detiene al viento. 
Agua, viento, piedra. 

El viento esculpe la piedra, 
la piedra es copa del agua, 
el agua escapa y es viento. 
Piedra, viento, agua. 

El viento en sus giros canta, 
el agua al andar murmura, 
la piedra inmóvil se calla. 
Viento, agua, piedra. 

Uno es otro y es ninguno: 
entre sus nombres vacíos 
pasan y se desvanecen 
agua, piedra, viento. 

For Roger Caillois
The water has hollowed the stone,
the wind dispersed the water,
the stone stopped the wind.
Water, wind, stone.

The wind sculpts the stone,
the stone is a cup of water,
the water runs off and is wind.
Stone, wind, water.

The wind sings in its turnings,
the water murmurs because it goes,
the immovable stone is quiet.
Wind, water, stone.

One is the opposite and is neither:
Amongst their empty names
they cross and disappear
water, stone, wind.

Octavio Paz was a Mexican poet and essayist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990.

“Viento, agua, piedra” (“Wind, water, stone”) speaks to the best way that every one is linked. People, nature and conditions all influence one another and he reveals that by portray a thoughts image of wind sculpting stone, water operating off and so forth.

This poem advantages Spanish language learners by offering studying apply materials that may be taken each at face worth or as one thing deeper.

6. “Oda a los calcetines” (Ode to My Socks) by Pablo Neruda

Me trajo Maru Mori 
un par de calcetines
que tejió con sus manos de pastora,
dos calcetines suaves como liebres.
En ellos metí los pies
como en dos estuches 
tejidos con hebras del
crepúsculo y pellejo de ovejas. 

Violentos calcetines, 
mis pies fueron dos pescados de lana,
de azul ultramarino
atravesados por una trenza de oro,
dos gigantescos mirlos, 
dos cañones;
mis pies fueron honrados de este modo 
por estos celestiales calcetines. 

Eran tan hermosos que por primera vez 
mis pies me parecieron inaceptables 
como dos decrépitos bomberos, 
bomberos indignos de aquel fuego bordado, 
de aquellos luminosos calcetines. 

Sin embargo resistí la tentación 
aguda de guardarlos como los colegiales 
preservan las luciérnagas, 
como los eruditos coleccionan 
documentos sagrados, 
resistí el impulso furioso de ponerlos 
en una jaula de oro y darles cada 
día alpiste y pulpa de melón rosado.

Como descubridores que en la selva 
entregan el rarísimo venado verde
al asador y se lo comen con remordimiento, 
estiré los pies y me enfundé
los bellos calcetines y luego los zapatos. 

Y es ésta la ethical de mi Oda: 
dos veces es belleza la belleza, 
y lo que es bueno es doblemente bueno,
cuando se trata de dos calcetines 
de lana en el invierno. 

Maru Mori introduced me
a pair of socks
that she knitted herself together with her sheepherder’s arms,
two socks as mushy as rabbit fur.
Into them I slipped my toes
as if into two instances
knit with thread of
twilight and sheepskin.

Violent socks,
my toes have been two fish fabricated from wool,
two giant sharks
of sea-blue
crossed by one golden thread,
two immense blackbirds,
two cannons;
my toes have been honored on this method
by these heavenly socks.

They have been so stunning that for the primary time
my toes appeared to me unacceptable
like two decrepit firemen,
firemen unworthy of that woven fireplace,
of these glowing socks.

Nonetheless I resisted the sharp temptation
to avoid wasting them someplace as schoolboys
hold fireflies,
as discovered males gather
sacred texts,
I resisted the mad impulse to place them
right into a golden cage and provides them each
day birdseed and pink melon flesh.

Like explorers within the jungle
who hand over the very uncommon inexperienced deer
to the spit and eat it with regret,
I stretched out my toes and pulled on
the magnificent socks after which my sneakers.

And that is the ethical of my Ode:
magnificence is twice magnificence,
and what’s good is doubly good,
when it’s a matter of two socks
fabricated from wool in winter.

Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

In “Oda a los calcetines”(“Ode to My Socks”), he talks about how great the pair of socks he has been gifted is. He compares them to many issues however in the long run he places them on—and tells us they’re most great when used as supposed.

You would possibly really feel intimidated by the size, however the story-telling nature makes it straightforward to observe. It’s one in all my favourite poems—and one of many first I discovered to recite!

7. “Cultivo una rosa blanca” (I Domesticate a White Rose) by José Martí

Cultivo una rosa blanca 
en junio como enero
para el amigo sincero 
que me da su mano franca.

Y para el merciless que me arranca 
el corazón con que vivo, 
cardo ni ortiga cultivo; 
cultivo la rosa blanca.

I domesticate a white rose
in June and January
for the true buddy
who offers me his honest hand.

And for the merciless one who rips out
the guts with which I reside,
I don’t domesticate the thistle or the nettle;
I domesticate the white rose.

This poem by Cuban poet José Martí has a repetitive factor as properly, however there’s so much to dig into—why a rose, why these months, why the phrase domesticate? Deceptively advanced however nonetheless quick and straightforward to memorize, this can be a good poem to get you deeper into the language.

Cuba has lengthy been rife with churning political waters, and this writer’s politician/author mixture will attraction to historical past buffs. As a author, Martí is heralded as one of many fore-founders of Modernist literature in Latin America.

8. “Desde mi pequeña vida” (From My Small Life) by Margarita Carrera

Desde mi pequeña vida
te canto
hermano
y lloro tu sangre 
por las calles derramada 
y lloro tu cuerpo
y tu andar perdido.

Ahora estoy aquí
de nuevo contigo
hermano. 
Tu sangre
es mi sangre
y tu grito se queda
en mis pupilas
en mi cantar mutilado. 

From my small life
I sing to you
brother
and I cry your blood
shed within the streets
and I cry your physique
and your misplaced stroll.

Now I’m right here
once more with you
brother.
Your blood
is my blood
and your scream stays
in my pupils
in my mutilated singing.

The Spanish phrase desde means “from,” which units the stage for a robust poem a few lady reflecting on the injustice that many individuals have been struggling in Guatemala throughout the Civil Battle. She talks about those that died defending an excellent, in distinction to her small, insignificant life the place she seems like she will’t make a lot of a distinction.

Margarita Carrera was born within the late Twenties, and her writing has tons of historic relevance as she was the primary lady to graduate from the San Carlos of Guatemala College.

9. “Strolling round” by Pablo Neruda

It so occurs I’m sick of being a person.
And it occurs that I stroll into tailor outlets and movie-houses
dried up, waterproof, like a swan fabricated from felt
steering my method in a water of wombs and ashes.

The scent of barbershops makes me break into hoarse sobs.
The one factor I need is to lie nonetheless like stones or wool,
the one factor I need is to see no extra shops, no gardens,
no extra items, no spectacles, no elevators.

It so occurs that I’m sick of my toes and my nails
and my hair and my shadow.
It so occurs I’m sick of being a person.

“Strolling Round” is a extra superior poem by Pablo Neruda that talks a few man who appears to be going round usually about his on a regular basis life. Deep down, although, he’s feeling intense anger and despair about what it’s wish to be human in trendy occasions.

Even firstly, you get a robust picture straight away: “a swan fabricated from felt,” that’s low cost, dried up and synthetic as a substitute of being majestic and swish. Perhaps subsequent time you are feeling worn out or not fairly like your self you’ll be able to merely say, “Soy un cisne de fieltro.”

These are solely the primary three stanzas of the poem—because it’s fairly lengthy we haven’t included the entire thing, however you’ll be able to learn it right here.

• You’ll shake up your examine routine. Generally essentially the most conventional methods of studying can begin to weary even essentially the most devoted pupil of the language, so it’s nice to get off the overwhelmed path!
• It’ll broaden your vocabulary and grammar. Poetry explores language of various complexity that you simply wouldn’t at all times hear in on a regular basis life, and it performs with phrases and grammar in distinctive methods. 
• You’ll perceive Spanish-speaking tradition higher. By studying poems by authors of varied nationalities, you’ll develop to understand nuances of language and tradition. For instance, studying a poem by a Mexican poet could also be fairly totally different to a poem written by a Chilean poet.
• Literary themes within the Latin American neighborhood are very attention-grabbing. As in lots of languages, poetry in Spanish can discover in any other case controversial and transgressive themes, that are intriguing to learn. 

Studying aloud will assist together with your basic talking capability, as a result of talking Spanish is basically the one method to get higher at, properly, talking Spanish. As talking is usually the factor language learners battle with essentially the most, you’ll be forward of the sport if you happen to take a deep breath and apply out loud.

Put the poem the place you’ll see it

Out of sight, out of thoughts, because the saying goes. What’s the purpose of working to pronounce a poem if you happen to’re simply going to neglect what you’ve learn? By printing out little copies of every poem and sticking them in locations you’ll make sure you see them (assume: mirrors, doorways, fridges), each the poem and the Spanish will keep in your thoughts for the long run.

Write it out from reminiscence

When you’re acquainted with the poem, take a pad of paper and attempt to write out the poem from reminiscence. You’ll be stunned by how a lot you do or don’t keep in mind with out the immediate in entrance of you, and it may be gauge to see if you happen to’ve actually discovered what the phrases imply as properly. Perhaps you neglect a phrase part-way by means of however fill within the right one based mostly on the rhyme or theme of the poem.

Have some instruments readily available that can assist you

There are many locations to search out studying instruments on-line. To begin with, it’s helpful to maintain translation apps or dictionaries readily available, such because the RAE Dictionary or SpanishDict.

For a extra numerous useful resource, there’s FluentU, which helps you to lookup Spanish phrases in a multimedia dictionary and save these for fast flashcards and personalised quizzes. This system additionally has tons of of genuine Spanish movies with interactive subtitles, together with poetry readings and different movies about Spanish literature:

The language studying program works on each internet and cell (Android and iOS). 

Take a look at a few of our suggestions for flashcard apps as properly, or do some exploration of the app shops by yourself.

Discovering magnificence within the phrases is straightforward…

…however it’s worthwhile to actually commit if you wish to perceive it! Utilizing kids’s poetry to bridge the hole between starting Spanish and intermediate Spanish is a superb method to begin.

Extra advanced poetry can also be a good way to advance your curiosity in numerous areas of Latin American tradition. Many poems in Spanish denote the writer’s preoccupations with occasions or themes of their house nation.

Have enjoyable looking for phrases that ring a bell with you, and keep in mind that all tough issues turn out to be simpler with apply.

The bottom line is protecting the apply contemporary and enjoyable!

Obtain:
This weblog put up is offered as a handy and transportable PDF that you simply
can take wherever.
Click on right here to get a replica. (Obtain)