This is a poem by Federico Garcia Lorca, the Spanish poet. It was written between 1921 and 1924. Here is the original Spanish and the English translation.
Ditty of First Desire
In the green morning
I wanted to be a heart.
A heart.
And in the ripe evening
I wanted to be a nightingale.
A nightingale.
(Soul,
turn orange-colored.
turn the color of love.)
In the vivid morning
I wanted to be myself.
A heart.
And at the evening's end
I wanted to be my voice.
A nightingale.
Soul,
turn orange-colored.
turn the color of love.
From Selected Verse, Songs, 1921-1924
translated by Alan S. Trueblood
Cancioncilla
del primer beso
En la mañana verde,
quería ser corazón.
Corazón.
Y en la tarde madura
quería ser ruiseñor.
Ruiseñor.
(Alma,
ponte color de naranja.
Alma,
ponte color de amor)
En la mañana viva,
yo quería ser yo.
Corazón.
Y en la tarde caída
quería ser mi voz.
Ruiseñor.
¡Alma,
ponte color naranja!
¡Alma,
ponte color de amor!
There are some interesting interpretations that I think the translator made when he switched from Lorca's Spanish to English (sorry, but I do not know who the translator was). First of all, look at the title: translated literally, "Cancionella del primer beso" means "song of the first kiss." Next, note that the translator puts the article "a" in front of "heart" and "nightingale;" in the Spanish, there is no article.