Happiness (La felicidad)
By Manuel Acuña
English Translation
A blue sky full of stars
shining in immensity;
a bird in love
singing in the forest;
for atmosphere the aromas
of the garden and the orange blossom;
next to us the water
sprouting from the spring
our hearts close,
our lips much more,
you rising to heaven
and me following you there—
that is love, my life,
That is happiness! …
Cross with the same wings
the worlds of the ideal;
to drain all the joys,
and all the haste that is good;
from dreams and happiness
back to reality,
waking up among the flowers
of a spring lawn;
both of us looking at each other,
the two of us kissing some more,
that is love, my life,
That is happiness …!
Original Spanish
Un cielo azul de estrellas
brillando en la inmensidad;
un pájaro enamorado
cantando en el florestal;
por ambiente los aromas
del jardín y el azahar;
junto a nosotros el agua
brotando del manantial
nuestros corazones cerca,
nuestros labios mucho más,
tú levantándote al cielo
y yo siguiéndote allá,
ese es el amor mi vida,
¡Esa es la felicidad!…
Cruza con las mismas alas
los mundos de lo ideal;
apurar todos los goces,
y todo el bien apurar;
de lo sueños y la dicha
volver a la realidad,
despertando entre las flores
de un césped primaveral;
los dos mirándonos mucho,
los dos besándonos más,
ese es el amor, mi vida,
¡Esa es la felicidad…!
About the Poem
Today is Cinco de Mayo—a day that, in the United States, often takes on a life of its own. While it is frequently mistaken for Mexico’s Independence Day (which is actually celebrated on September 16), Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla. In Mexico, it is a relatively modest holiday, but here it has become a broader celebration of Mexican culture.
So today, I wanted to turn—not to the noise of celebration—but to something quieter and more enduring: poetry. Specifically, the work of Manuel Acuña, whose words capture a simple, luminous vision of love and happiness.
There’s something striking about how simple this poem is—and how complete it feels.
Acuña doesn’t describe wealth, success, or achievement. There’s no mention of status, ambition, or even permanence. Instead, happiness is found in a moment: a sky, a bird, the scent of orange blossoms, water from a spring, two people close enough that their hearts—and then their lips—follow each other.
It’s deeply sensory, almost immersive. You can feel the air, smell the garden, hear the bird. And in the middle of it all, love isn’t something abstract or distant—it’s immediate, physical, and shared.
What I find most compelling is the second half of the poem. After soaring through “the worlds of the ideal,” the speaker returns to reality—not with disappointment, but with joy. They wake up among flowers, still together, still looking at each other, still kissing.
Happiness, then, is not escape. It’s not found in leaving the world behind. It’s found in returning to it—with someone beside you.
There’s also a quiet universality here. Though written in 19th-century Mexico, the poem transcends time and place. Anyone who has loved—truly loved—recognizes this vision: the feeling that, for a moment, the world narrows to just two people and expands at the same time.
On a day like today, when celebration can sometimes feel loud or commercial, this poem offers something gentler. It reminds us that happiness is often not in the spectacle, but in the stillness—in shared moments that feel, however briefly, like eternity.
“La felicidad” is a lyric poem that reflects the Romantic sensibilities of its time—lush imagery, emotional sincerity, and an idealized vision of love. The natural world plays a central role, serving as both setting and metaphor: the sky, the bird, the garden, and the spring all mirror the vitality and purity of the lovers’ connection.
The poem also moves fluidly between dream and reality. The speaker imagines soaring through “the worlds of the ideal,” yet ultimately grounds happiness in lived experience—waking, seeing, touching, kissing. This duality reflects a broader Romantic tension between aspiration and reality, suggesting that true happiness lies not in choosing one over the other, but in holding both together.
Its refrain—“ese es el amor, mi vida, ¡Esa es la felicidad!”—anchors the poem emotionally, reinforcing the idea that love, in its simplest and most immediate form, is the essence of happiness.
About the Poet
Manuel Acuña (1849–1873) was a Mexican poet and playwright associated with the Romantic movement. Born in Saltillo, he studied medicine in Mexico City, where he became part of a literary circle that included some of the most prominent writers of his time.
Though his life was tragically short—he died at just 24—Acuña left behind a body of work marked by emotional intensity, lyrical beauty, and a deep exploration of love, longing, and existential reflection. He is perhaps best known for his poem Nocturno a Rosario, a deeply personal and melancholic work.
“La felicidad,” by contrast, shows a different side of his voice—one that embraces joy, intimacy, and the quiet completeness of love. Even within his brief life, Acuña captured both the heights of happiness and the depths of human feeling, which is part of what continues to make his poetry resonate today.
The Closet Professor 