Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego, Land of Fire! How further long How many days and nights – or would it be months and years Or – would it be never, I shudder to think. How further long would you come to me in my sleep In my waking hours, in my walks in the mountains How further long would it be when I touch you finally?

Tierra del Fuego, you have remained a dream Decades old, when unable to resist you, I tore off a picture And kept you in my treasure chest, locked in the depths of my heart! I yearned for you so much, Tierra del Fuego!

You were a kindred soul in my tempestuous youth. Your trees twisted in the storm Storms, passionate and intense, Raging waves lashing against the cliffs Snow-bound peaks, aloof, saying, ' No, no further!' Yet I could see in you a heart wanting to be loved, wanting To be understood, silently asking, ' look at me, I am not just The ravaged, savage land that you see' - I knew you as I know me!

In my dreams you burn, your snows and blizzards and open vast lands Your cruel seas, screaming winds and gently flowing streams! My fingers tremble, my heart flutters as I see you, as I see men standing - All I have are your pictures, I chant your name as I have, as I will for years!

Tierra del Fuego! Look at me. In my dreams I do not climb your mountains I do not fish your streams, I do not scamper over your craggy landscape. Somewhere, somewhere in you, I stand leaning on a rock, looking out To the land's end and beyond the seas, in my dreams I caress A stone, moss-covered - I slip it into my pocket, close to my heart!