Goodbye, beloved Land, beloved by the sun,                                          

Pearl of the Orient Seas, our lost Eden!

Gladly I give you this, my sad life,

O that it were more brilliant, more fresh, more sweet,

Still I would give it, give it for your sake!

In field of battle, in delirious struggle

Others give their lives without doubt or pause;

It doesn’t matter if under cypress, lily, or laurel,

Gallows or meadow, combat or cruel martyrdom:

All death is equal when called for by country and home.

I shall die when I see the colors of the sky

Announcing, at last, the day at the end of night;

If you need more color with which to stain the dawn,

I would spill my blood, pour it upon the good hour

And gild even the sparkle of the newborn sun.

My dreams when I was this high, scarcely a man,

My dreams when young, brimming with vigor,

Were one day to see you, jewel of the Eastern Sea,

Eyes unmarred by tears, your brow lifted high,

Without frown or furrow, without blemish or shame.

My life’s enchantment, my sweet, ardent anguish:

To your health, my soul cries before it leaps!

To your health! How lovely it is to fall so you may fly,

To die so you may live, to die beneath your sky,

And upon your magical land lay eternity to sleep!

If someday upon my grave you see sprouting

Among tufts and herbs a humble bloom,

Bring it to your lips—so, too, you’ll kiss my soul;

And I shall feel upon my brow, under the tomb,

Your tender breath, your breath’s warm flame.

Let the moon watch over me, soft and serene;

Let the dawn wash over me with light resplendent;

Let the wind keen over me with fierce lament,

And should a bird alight upon my cross,

Suffer it to sing its canticle of peace.

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