TO ALEJANDRO SAWA
(EPITAPH)
Never was a man, ever
So bent to pleasure, more
Driven to pain.
Never has one fallen with such
Countenance, that of so
Victorious a loser.
Oh, he was as keen to go to waste
As others are to win.
And so he missed
His life,
For want of love and
For having given so much.
* * *
Better to die and forget
Than to love and to live.
It's more worthy to let go
Than to achieve.
Manuel Machado
English Translation by Juan Ribó Chalmeta