Robert Schechter
THREE THINGS
from the Spanish of Baltasar de Alcázar (1530−1606) ("Tres Cosas")
There are three things my captive heart
forever dotes upon:
beautiful Inez, smoked ham,
and eggplant parmesan.
Oh lovers, it was sweet Inez
whose power over me
was such I actually despised
whatever was not she.
She made me senseless for a year.
In truth, I was far gone,
until one day she served me ham
and eggplant parmesan.
Inez was first to win my heart,
but now I’d be hard-pressed
to choose among the three of them
the one I love the best.
In taste, proportion, and in weight,
I’ve nothing to go on:
I love Inez, I love smoked ham,
and eggplant parmesan.
Inez can boast of beauty,
the ham of Southern Spain,
the tender aubergine can boast
of Spanish soil and rain.
The competition is so close,
no winner can be drawn.
They all are one. Inez, the ham,
the eggplant parmesan.
At least, now that she knows that I
love other things as deeply,
Inez might sell me favors much
more often and more cheaply,
since there is now a counterweight
for her to reckon on:
a luscious slab of Spanish ham
and eggplant parmesan.
(translation by Robert Schechter, originally published in the Raintown Review, and subsequently published in Per Contra. Issue 24)