I Have Put Aside Love

Capitolio, Habana, Cuba, 2006

Cando's Room, Habana, 2006

El Rincon, Habana, 2006

Calimete, Cuba, 2006

Revolucion es Energia, along the highway, Cuba, 2006

El Medico, Habana, Cuba, 2006

Title taken from the translated version of Jose Marti's poem, Yo Soy Un Hombre Sincero... (Verso I) [A Sincere Man Am I (Verse I)]:

A sincere man am I
From the land where palm trees grow,
And I want before I die
My soul's verses to bestow.

I'm a traveller to all parts,
And a newcomer to none:
I am art among the arts,
With the mountains I am one.

I know how to name and class
All the strange flowers that grow;
I know every blade of grass,
Fatal lie and sublime woe.
...

If they say I have obtained
The pick of the jeweller's trove,
A good friend is what I've gained
And I have put aside love.
....

On my brave heart is engraved
The sorrow hidden from all eyes:
The son of a land enslaved,
Lives for it, suffers and dies.

All is beautiful and right,
All is as music and reason;
And all, like diamonds, is light
That was coal before its season.