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Public Domain Photo Amber Cane

Amber Cane

Here is a flower.
called Amber Cane.
It is from a dear memory of an afternoon
in which your mouth gave me a word
as blissful as a kiss.

These lines publish my secret
similiar to everyone else’s.

Why stack high verbal displays
of decorous sentences and images,
to tell everyone what they already know?

You also lived with hope,
and with sorrowful bliss, the desolation of absence,
and fickle glory,
venturous certainty between doubts,
and the loving taste of another soul.

I want that, before this flower and that word,
we recognize ourselves as equals, 
as before a common homeland music.

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Caña de ámbar

He aquí una flor
llamada caña de ámbar.
Es recuerdo querido de una tarde
en que me dio su boca una palabra
dichosa como un beso.

Esas líneas publican mi secreto
semejante al de todos.
¿A qué apilar altos alardes verbales,
decoro de sentencias y de imágenes,
para decirte lo que sabes?
También tú junto a la esperanza viviste
y hubo en ti dicha dolorosa, desolación de ausencia y
                                                  [gloria inconstante
y certidumbre venturosa entre dudas
y amartelada gustación de otra alma.
Quiero que ante esta flor y esa palabra
nos reconozcamos iguales
como ante una común música patria.

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BRIEF NOTES

This poem, Cana de ambar, was published in a small book of 45 poems, Fervor De Buenos Aires, the first book published by noted Argentine author, Jorge Luis Borges, in 1923, when he was 23. There were a number of later editions of Fervor published through the years, but interestingly, this poem was not included. As a result, Amber Cane is a bit hard to find, and there is very little commentary about it posted online. It is surrounded by an aura of mystery, and perhaps it always will be.

Ok, so what type of flower is the Cana de ambar? Well it is quite popular in places like Cuba (National Flower) and Argentina. Here in the US the closest might be the Butterfly Lily. And I have no doubt that in 1923, the flower had a special meaning to Argentines, just as many flowers have special meanings in 2023 in the United States. With that said, I think that Lilies in general, particular White Lilies, have a certain connotation of innocence and purity, wherever they may be found. That is part of the backdrop of this mysterious poem, in my estimation.