[Gocamino] Poem at the Pilgrims' office

[Blaroli at aol.com]

Hello you all,
Here is the poem that appears on a large niche on the wall, on illustrated 
tiles, at the top of the stairs, just before entering the Pilgrims' Office.  It 
is written in  Galician, and I hope that someone here can provide a better 
translation than mine:

       "A ond' ira aquel romeiro,
meu romeiro, a ond ira?
Camino de Compostela,
non sei s'ali chegara.

      Os pes leva cheos de sangro
e non pode mais andar;
 mal pocado!....pobre vello!
non sei s'ali chegara.

     Ten logas and brancas barbas,
ollos de doce mirar, 
ollos gazos, leonados,
verdes com'auga do mar.
---------
Chegaron a Compostela
e foron a Catedral d'esta maneira falon
Gaiferos de Mormallan:

   "Gracias meu Senor Santiago
a vossos pes me tes xa.
Se queres tirarm a vida
podesma, Senor, tirar,
porque morrerei contento
n'esta Santa Catedral.

                             (Del Romance de Gaiferos)

Translation..... (very tentative}

    "Where is that pilgrim going?
My (poor) pilgrim where will he go?
(He's on) the  Way to Conpostela, 
I don't know if he'll arrive.

    His feet are all bloodied
and he can hardly walk anymore,
badly sheltered! .. poor old pilgrim!
I don't know if he'll arrive.

    His beard is long and white
and his eyes are sweetly looking,
guarded eyes, lion-like
green as the waters of the sea
--------- 
They arrived in Compostela,
and went to the Cathedral and spoke thus:
The Mormallan gaiferos:

Thank you my lord Santiago
you now have me at your feet 
If you want to take my life
you may take it my Lord,
because I will die contented
in this Holy Cathedral.

                (from the Gaiferos Romance)"

You may remember that besides the poem there is a lovely figure of an aged 
pilgrim walking on.  I was told that the tiles containing the poem and the 
figure have been on the wall niche for as long as the Pilgrims' Office has 
functioned.

The word "romeiro" was the first allusion to pilgrims, since the first 
Christian pilgrimages in Europe were made to Rome.  To this day in Spain  people who 
go to visit holy places  are called"romeros", and the concerted pilgrimages 
are called "Romerias".  The most famous, colorful and lively of them all is the 
"Romeria del Rocio" that takes place in May.  Thousands of people dressed in 
Flamenco costumes, singing and dancing throughout, go from Seville to the 
Church of the Virgin of Rocio, on foot,horseback or oxen-drawn wagons. The Romeria 
takes about three days and it is just unbelievable.  The "hermita" where the 
image of the Virgin of Rocio is located is on the Andalucian plains,besides a 
lagoon where one can always see white horses wading amidst the herons, and it 
is one of the loveliest places I know.

Warm regards,

Rosina