Poem

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Loved homeland! Destiny a long ago
struck a sword on your heart with vehemence,
and today, downed but still proud even then,
you remind me of a lion’s last bawl.

Before, when you used to look blessed and glowed,
you came after me with joy, reverence.
But today I just see unhappiness,
all the same, my devotion does still grow.

For you, homeland, for you who will bother
to fade these darkened clouds in your honor
and pass away covered with your colors!

Merely me, to that fortune I am bound.
Only then, I shall be thrown facing down,
to stroke that fine dust of yours on the ground!

– Federico Barreto

Adapted by Pablo Alejos Flores

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. «To Peru», a poem adaptation written by Pablo Alejos Flores.