Antonio Machado (1875 - 1939) was a Spanish poet of deep spirituality and sensitivity. Mary G. Berg and Dennis Maloney present their translations of this collection of poems drawn from two sequences of Proverbs and Folksongs that appeared in Machado's books Campos de Castilla and Nuevas canciones. In the preface, the translators point out that this poet used the outer world of nature and places as a catalyst for inner exploration. They also compare these aphoristic poems to those of Pythagoras and Heraclitus.

In his introduction, Thomas Moore shares his appreciation for Machado as "a master of immediacy" and as a sensual poet. He adds: "His indulgence in paradox and circularity reminds me of Jesus, another poet of the magical naturalism school, and, of course, Emily Dickinson, who also made theology out of a garden patch and a local ring of hills."

Here are a few of our favorite poems about Jesus, impermanence, and telling time by one's heart.

"I love Jesus, who said to us:
Heaven and earth will pass away.
When heaven and earth pass,
my word will remain.
Jesus, what was your word?
Love? Forgiveness? Charity?
All your words were
one word: awareness."

"You say that nothing gets lost, and perhaps what you say is true; but we lose everything and everything will lose us."

"I tell time by my heart:
a time for hope
and a time for despair."