Back to contents
My dad selected ‘Marinero en tierra’ or ‘Sailor at shore’ by Rafael Alberti. He likes this poem because it is about the ocean and shore and reminds him of his childhood. He was born near the Southern Spanish coast. He worked on a farm with his family and would walk down to the beach every day. The poet’s father got a job in Madrid and brought the rest of his family with him, he wrote the poem to remind him what the seashore was like. My dad had to learn this poem at school and he first recalled it when he had to go to Madrid for university. Rafael Alberti uses language which is really beautiful and flowing. The structure of the poem, using anaphoras, gives the poem more sentiment, for example: “y sobre la Estrella el viento, y sobre el viento la vela” in English; “And above the star the wind, and above the wind the sail.” The poem expresses the idea that your heart and soul will remain where you have come from or where you consider home. This poem was written as a consolation for the change and contrast that happened in the poet’s life, this is what makes it so beautiful.
Sailor at shore
If my voice dies on land,
Carry it down to the sea,
And leave it there on the shore,
Carry it down to the sea,
And appoint it Capitan,
Of a white man of war,
Oh my voice adorned,
With my naval insignia:
Over my heart an anchor,
And over the anchor the star,
And above the star the wind,
And above the wind the sail.
Marinero en tierra
Rafael Alberti
Si mi voz muriera en tierra,
Llevadla al nivel del mar,
Y dejadla en la rivera.
Llevadla al nivel del mar,
Y nombradla capitana,
De un blanco bajel de guerra.
O mi voz condecorada,
Con la insignia marinera,
Sobre el corazón un ancla,
Y sobre l ’ancla una estrella
Sobre la estrella el viento,
Y sobre el viento la vela.
Here you can listen to members of the class reading the poem.