Rider’s Song
by Federico García Lorca
Cordova, far and lonely.
Black pony, full moon,
And olives in my pocket:
Although I know the roads,
I’ll never reach Cordova.
For the plain, for the wind,
Black pony, red moon,
And death is watching for me
Beside Cordova’s towers.
Alas! the long, long highway,
Alas! my valiant pony,
Alas, that death is waiting
Before I reach Cordova.
Cordova, far and lonely.
Originally published in Poetry magazine, April 1937, less than a year after the author’s murder during the Spanish Civil War.
PHOTO: Cordova, Andalusia, Spain. Photo by Adreslebedev, used by permission.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Federico García Lorca (June 5, 1898-August 19, 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of ’27, a group consisting of mostly poets who introduced the tenets of European movements (such as symbolism, futurism, and surrealism) into Spanish literature. He is believed to have been killed by Nationalist forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. His remains have never been found.
POETRY and PLACES 