Porrera [English translation]

I love this land 1

Like a faithful and passionate lover.

This land of mine

That every day lights me up and takes me:

Skin on skin, we share ourselves,

Body to body, we learn about each other

And desire keeps our dreams alive!

This harsh land,

With her dark eyes and full lips.

I feel her here in my belly

As if, inside of me, it extended its roots.

Echo of loneliness,

I recognize her step by step

And, in love, I feel her both haughty and affectionate.

My land leads me

Through paths that lie beyond myself.

I rest whenever I look at her;

When I'm far from her, everything makes me feel sad!

Furrow after furrow, I feel her deep inside,

Because of desire, I'm aware of the fact

That, without her, my heart doesn't beat at all.

El Molló brings life to us,

La Teixeta, love

And the Marrades highlands, oblivion...

The North's oblivion!

La Sentiu calls a dream

Drenched in light;

But the Marrades highlands call oblivion...

The North's oblivion! 2

I shall go away from here

When a lush and bright morning fills my heart.

I shall leave this place:

There's so much life awaiting me out in the world!

For those senses that are still alive,

The horizon shall be a lure

In which I'll find the strength to rise.

Homesickness won't be able

To crush down the yearning that drives me and makes me tremble.

Forgetting the way back

Shall create a space filled with silence and freedom:

There won't be either a gesture nor desire,

Not a road or an strong desire

Powerful enough to make me go back!

El Molló brings life to us,

La Teixeta, love

And the Marrades highlands, oblivion...

The North's oblivion!

La Sentiu calls a dream

Drenched in light;

But the Marrades highlands call oblivion...

The North's oblivion!

1. Porrera is a town in Southern Catalonia, where the poet and writer Miquel Martí i Pol was born in 1929.2. These are all names of mountains in the region of El Priorat, in Catalonia.