Federico García Lorca trans. by Sarah Arvio

TREES
       1919

Were you once arrows
falling from the sky
What terrible warriors shot you
Were they the stars

Your music comes from the souls of the birds
from the eyes of god
from the perfect passion
Trees
Have your rough roots found
my heart in the dirt

Federico García Lorca's "Trees," along with "Burla of Don Pedro on Horseback," "They Cut Down Three Trees," "Hunter," "Little Madrigal," "[Water where do you go]," and "March Orchard," can be read in the print edition of The Arkansas International 3.

Federico García Lorca (Granada, 1898–1936) is considered one of the greatest poets and playwrights of the twentieth century. He was murdered by Fascist forces at the outset of the Spanish Civil War.

Sarah Arvio is the author of night thoughts: 70 dream poems & notes from an analysis, Sono: Cantos, and Visits from the Seventh. These poems are forthcoming in a new volume of the works of Federico García Lorca,
Poet in Spain: New Translations (Alfred A. Knopf, 2017).