The Black Heralds (Los Heraldos Negros), by Cesar Vallejo

I am fascinated with the process of translating poetry from Spanish to English, or vice versa.  It is a challenge, which ultimately is what draws me in.  To simply change the words of a poem from Spanish to English is easy, but to capture the soul of the poem, that is difficult. 

Poem 20 (Poema 20), by Pablo Neruda

While serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (1990-1992) in southern Chile, I began to hear of Pablo Neruda.  I had always felt a fondness for poetry, and Neruda quickly became one of my favorite poets.  Following my mission, I took a class at Utah State University on Spanish Literature, which I absolutely loved and which expanded my interest in Neruda, as well as other Hispanic poets.  Unfortunately, for many years, I haven't read as much poetry as I would have liked.  Recently, I have sought to remedy that problem.