"The American Flag" by Nicolas Heredia y Mota, translated by Edgar Peguero y Heredia

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Your gift today will help the Academy of American Poets continue to publish the work of 260 poets each year, and share this series with 320,000 readers every day.
September 15, 2024 

The American Flag

Nicolas Heredia y Mota
translated from the Spanish by Edgar Peguero y Heredia

Tell me upon seeing the sweet rays 
Of the splendid morning
The majestic flag
Of the stars and stripes?

Yesterday upon death he prayed,
Ostentatious deeds
On the solid bastion.
In the middle of the battle ...

Between the roaring horizon
Of the bombs and the bullets
Walled off is the night upright,
Its stars and stripes!

Oh tell me if you still, 
Our starry flag,
Cover the roof of the brave,
Cover the soil of the homeland!

What is it that I glimpse
There on the distant shore,
And that shines upon the fog
On the steep tower
Where yesterday the enemy,
The soldiers denied?

With imposing silence
What preludes the battle
The breeze already reveals,
Already hides it from sight …
There the dawn finally lights up
Its stars and stripes.

Thus shines forever
That venerable flag
On the roof of the brave,
On the soil of the homeland.

 


 

La bandera americana

 

Dime si ves al dulce rayo
De la espléndida mañana
La bandera majestuosa
¿De las estrellas y franjas?

Ayer al morir él oró,
Ostenta’base gallardo
Sobre el sólido baluarte
En medio de la batalla …

Entre el horrísono estruendo
De las bombas y las balas
Aún miró la noche erguidas
¡Sus estrellas y sus franjas!

Oh, dime si todavía
¡Nuestra bandera estrellada
Cubre el techo de los bravos,
Cubre el suelo de la patria!

¿Qué es aquello que vislumbro
Allá en la orilla lejana,
Y que brilla, entre la niebla
Sobre la torre empinada
Donde ayer el enemigo
Los soldados congregaban?

Con el silencio imponente
Qué preludia la batalla
La brisa ya lo descubre,
Ya lo oculta a la mirada …
Allá la aurora al fin alumbra
Sus estrellas y franjas.

Así brilla para siempre
Esa enseña veneranda
Sobre el techo de los bravos,
Sobre el suelo de la patria.

This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on September 15, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast 

  

In his 1960 essay, “Parnassianism, Symbolism, Decadentism-and Spanish-American Modernism,” literary scholar Poe Carden noted, “The Modernist Movement in Spanish American literature, which had its formal beginnings in 1888 with the publication of [Rubén] Darío’s Azul, was powerfully indebted to each of the schools that developed in France between 1860 and 1885; namely, Parnassianism, Decadentism, and Symbolismowing most perhaps to Decadentism.” As defined, decadentism emerged from the writings of Montesquieu, the Enlightenment thinker who saw moral decay as a partial cause to the decline of the Roman Empire. According to Carden, Nicolás Heredia y Mota criticized the “moral collapse” of Decadentism in Spanish literature. He wrote, “[Heredia attempted] to investigate the sociological background of Decadentism; after asserting that the very name indicated it to be a school without ideals, and therefore characteristic of worn-out souls and a society in the dotage […].” 

Nicolás Heredia y Mota, born in Baní, Santo Domingo (now, the Dominican Republic), on June 20, 1855, was a poet, novelist, journalist, literary critic, and revolutionary. He was a key figure in the movement for Cuban independence from Spain and died on July 12, 1901.

Edgar L. Peguero y Heredia, born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1969, is a descendant of Manuel de Regla Mota y Álvarez, former president of the Dominican Republic, and of Nicolás Heredia y Mota. Peguero y Heredia, who has worked in information technology and real estate, is currently compiling an anthology that will highlight his favorite works by writers in the Heredia family.


“America” by Herman Melville
read more
“The Bay Fight” by Henry Howard Brownell
read more

Thanks to Sawako Nakayasu, author of Pink Waves (Omnidawn, 2023), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read or listen to a Q&A about Nakayasu’s curatorial approach and find out more about our Guest Editors for the year.
“Poem-a-Day is brilliant because it makes space in the everyday racket for something as meaningful as a poem.” —Tracy K. Smith

If this series is meaningful to you, join the community of Poem-a-Day supporters by making a gift today. Now serving more than 320,000 daily subscribers, this publication is only possible thanks to the contributions of readers like you.
 
Copyright © 2024 The Academy of American Poets, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.



Our mailing address is:
The Academy of American Poets
75 Maiden Lane
STE #901
New York, NY 10038

Add us to your address book


View this email in your browser

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from all Academy messages.

For any other questions, please visit the Poem-a-Day FAQ page.

Older messages

"Vas Doloris" by Julián del Casal, translated by William George Williams

Saturday, September 14, 2024

I come from the remote borders / of the land of oblivion. Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Your gift today will help the Academy of American Poets continue to publish the work

"Skill Sets" by Rae Armantrout

Friday, September 13, 2024

In the first cartoons / the mutability of forms / was a laugh riot Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day September 13, 2024 Skill Sets Rae Armantrout 1 In the first cartoons the mutability of

"Arachnoscientific Salvation" by Katrine Øgaard Jensen

Thursday, September 12, 2024

at all times / a sensation of intricate webs Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day September 12, 2024 Arachnoscientific Salvation Katrine Øgaard Jensen a mistranslation of Ursula Andkjær

"Daria Ukiyo-e" by Aristilde Kirby

Thursday, September 12, 2024

( A sprawling falling dream. / Pain meds. 'Hi, I'm Heiress Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day September 11, 2024 Daria Ukiyo-e Aristilde Kirby after Tada Chimako & Susanne

"the everydayness of bravery"

Thursday, September 12, 2024

September 11, 2024 poems from the archive In remembrance of September 11, 2001, read poems from the “September Suite” written by former Chancellor Lucille Clifton on the day of, and the six days

You Might Also Like

Heidi Klum’s No-Pants Look Was Cyborg Chic

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Plus, Megan Fox's naked pregnancy announcement, Gigi Hadid's party bathrobe, your horoscope, and more. Nov. 12, 2024 Bustle Daily Can I Tell My Boyfriend About Exes & My Past Relationships?

The FDA Is Finally Pulling This Cold Medicine From Market

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Avoid These Common Mistakes During Open Enrollment. Scientists have known for years phenylephrine is ineffective. Not displaying correctly? View this newsletter online. TODAY'S FEATURED STORY The

Trump's environmental assault begins

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Here's how activists envision the fight ahead. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

The Case for Watching 'Bridgerton' With Your Teens

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Today in style, self, culture, and power. The Cut November 12, 2024 PARENTING It's Family 'Sex Scenes' Night When violent porn is everywhere, is there a case for serving up romantic

‘Gladiator II’ More Than Justifies Its Existence

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Plus: Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo's 'Wicked' press tour is full of happy tears. • Nov. 12, 2024 Up Next Your complete guide to industry-shaping entertainment news, exclusive

14 Riverside Drive by Glen Bullock

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Prose ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Two Chains

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

What Do You Think You're Looking At? #188 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

"𐓷𐓘𐓻𐓘𐓻𐓟/Wahzhazhe/Osage" by Elise Paschen

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

The first language / 𐓷𐓘𐓻𐓘𐓻𐓟 which Eliza, / her grandmother, spoke. Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 12, 2024 𐓷𐓘𐓻𐓘𐓻𐓟/Wahzhazhe/Osage Elise Paschen Wa-zha'-zhe, name of the

Can the real Dev Patel please stand up?

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

— Check out what we Skimm'd for you today November 12, 2024 Subscribe Read in browser But first: an early Black Friday sale on jewelry Update location or View forecast Quote of the Day "Yeah.

I'm Ditching My Ballet Flats For This Edgier Fall Shoe Trend

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

The MVP of the season. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 11.11.2024 Well, after weeks of oddly warm weather, it finally feels like fall. As such, I'm seizing the opportunity to sport all my