#daniel sempere

[ninadove]

La Sombra del Viento fandom (aka @theuselesshistoryweeb and myself), come get your traumatised character foils! 📚🔥

I’M ACTUALLY REALLY PROUD OF THIS LITTLE THING. I first drafted it in English, then realised 80% of the way through that something wasn’t working out and decided to slap some Spanish in there. Baby’s first poem in her third language… Woah…

A huge thank you to @lesbitorte for kindly checking the grammar and spelling! ❤️

Alt text and translation below:

🇪🇸 ESPAÑOL 🇪🇸

JULIÁN:

Eres

parte de mí,

un sueño imprudente

qué creía quemado.

Mirándote,

lo que podría haber sido

se dispara como agujas

sobre nuestras cabezas

Y grito:

¡Se parece a mí,

el mar y el fuego,

el Edén y los desagües

tallados en sus huesos!

La quiero como

quieres.

DANIEL:

Lo que buscaba,

lo descubrí en

un velo de páginas

como un sudario.

Me atormenta

un nombre vacío;

una ala azul pálido

cae como neblina

sobre su cara.

¿Me parezco a ella?

Esta ciudad que alberga

el amor y el odio,

el peso de la guerra,

me interroga:

¿Debería

regresar

a sus entrañas?

JUNTOS:

Eres // lo que buscaba,

parte de mí. // Lo descubrí en

un sueño imprudente, // un velo de páginas

que creía quemado // como un sudario.

Mirándote, // me atormenta

lo que podría haber sido // un nombre vacío;

una ala azul pálido

se dispara como agujas, // cae como neblina

sobre nuestras cabezas — // sobre su cara.

Y grito: // ¿Me parezco a ella?

¡Se parece a mí, // esta ciudad que alberga

el mar y el fuego, // el amor y el odio,

el Edén y los desagües — // el peso de la guerra

tallado en sus huesos! // Me interroga:

¿La quiero como // debería?

¿Quieres // regresar

a sus entrañas?

🇬🇧 ENGLISH 🇬🇧

JULIÁN:

You are

a part of me,

a careless dream

I thought I’d burnt.

Looking at you,

what could have been

rises like spires

over our heads

And I scream:

“She looks like me!”

Ocean and fire,

Eden and sewer filth

carved in her bones —

I love her

like you love.

DANIEL:

What I’ve been looking for,

I discovered in

a veil of pages

like a shroud

I am haunted by

an empty name;

a pale blue wing

falls like fog

over her face.

Do I look like her?

This city that shelters

love and hatred,

the weight of war —

it makes me wonder:

Should I

return

to her womb?

BOTH:

You are // what I’ve been looking for,

a part of me. // I learnt so in

a careless dream, // a veil of pages

I thought had burnt // like a shroud.

Looking at you, // I am haunted by

what could have been // an empty name;

a pale blue wing

rises like spires, // falls like fog

over our heads — // over her face.

And I scream: // “Do I look like her?

She looks like me, // this city that shelters

ocean and fire, // love and hatred,

Eden and sewer filth // — the weight of war

carved in her bones!” // It demands to know:

Do I love her // like I should?

Do you want // to return

To her entrails?

BONUS COMMENTARY

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably noticed that there are little nuances in the Spanish version that called for vocabulary variations in the translation! For instance, in Daniel’s part, “entrañas” refers to his mother’s womb; but in the overarching poem, I used “entrails” because I was talking about Barcelona itself and wanted to highlight the ambiguity of its entrails’ nature — a womb that gives birth, or a stomach that devours and vomits?

Speaking of Barcelona — the original English draft didn’t make it clear enough that the city itself was the topic of the overarching poem, rather than a hypothetical female character/weird mix of Penélope and Daniel’s mum (possibly even Bea…?). Spanish’s gendered pronouns came in really handy here!

If you haven’t already, go read La Sombra del Viento (The Shadow of the Wind) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón — it’s great! 📚🔥

[sleepy-bear-tm]

Miscellaneous interactions from the Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

[theuselesshistoryweeb]

I’m afraid Daniel Sempere had influenced me because I’m craving to write my next WIP on paper with a beautiful pen… and I can’t start it without it. I swear it won’t be as good if I don’t have it

[dimyturner]

«Hay pocas razones para decir la verdad, pero para mentir el número es infinito».

[nogravitymom]

Daniel Sempere really thought he was the protagonist of a harem anime for a second there

[xtabay20]

Empezó a escribir cartas que nunca supo cómo terminar.

El prisionero del cielo, Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

[aarzhklahh-olgevezh]

I want to scream about The Shadow of the Wind but I have this strange feeling that no one would listen

[mypinkcactus]

😭