Antonio Machado Poem and Alchemy

Posted by Judy Vandegrift on May 25, 2015 at 11:01pm

I had a dream recently that reminded me of this poem written by Antonio Machado and then both the dream and the poem made me think of our discussion of alchemy and the transformation into gold in our last session. I was particularly struck by the second verse about the golden bees "making sweet honey out of my old failures". Here's the poem:

Last Night As I Was Sleeping

-------------------Antonio Machado, translated by Robert Bly

 

Last night as I was sleeping,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—  

that a spring was breaking

out in my heart.

I said: Along which secret aqueduct,

Oh water, are you coming to me,

water of a new life

that I have never drunk?

 

Last night as I was sleeping,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that I had a beehive   

here inside my heart.

And the golden bees

were making white combs

and sweet honey

from my old failures.

 

Last night as I was sleeping,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that a fiery sun was giving

light inside my heart.

It was fiery because I felt

warmth as from a hearth,

and sun because it gave light

and brought tears to my eyes.

 

Last night as I slept,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that it was God I had

here inside my heart.

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Replies

  • Bonnie Bright May 26, 2015 at 3:05am

    Judy! Thank you so much for this. Of course, the image of the beehive is what struck the strongest chord for me amongst all these rich images. For me, the beehive is the ultimate symbol of alchemy. The way in which the bees gather pollen and nectar and transform it into honey (sometimes regurgitating it almost 100 times before it achieves the perfect texture that honey requires) is truly magical.

    And isn't that the way individuation works? Like the image of the spiral that Jung refers to, we go through the same challenges and initiations in our lives, often engaging with the same theme(s) over and over and over—but hopefully each time that particular challenge or theme comes around again, we engage a little differently, come into a slightly different relationship with it—learning, growing, and transcending a little bit at a time....

  • Eva Rider May 25, 2015 at 11:30pm

    Thank you for sharing this exquisite poem by Antonio Machado. It so beautifully illustrates what we have been speaking about in the language of poetic imagery..

    I can see the four worlds described and all the verses lead us back to the center the "Heart" the mediator where all roads meet in Beauty and in Truth and within Love.

    Thank you for this Beauty.

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