Robinson was born in 1869, at Head Tide in Maine and until 1897 lived at the family home in Gardiner, Maine, aside from several years as a student at Harvard University. For the rest of his life he moved in New York and devoted his life to writing poetry. Robinson earned a small living first as a subway inspector and then in the city's customs office. His Collected Poems in 1922 received the Pulitzer Prize and earned him a degree as Doctor of Literature at Yale University. Although best known for his short poems, long poems such as Captain Craig (1902), Lancelot (1920), The Man Who Died Twice (1924), and Tristram (1927) earned him acclaim from his peers. The last two of these won Pulitzer Prizes in 1925 and 1927, when he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Arts and Letters. Robinson never married but enjoyed the company of many friends. He died in New York on April 6, 1935.

Edwin Arlington
Robinson
(1869-1935)

A Happy Man

When these graven lines you see,
Traveller, do not pity me;
Though I be among the dead,
Let no mournful word be said.

Children that I leave behind,
And their children, all were kind;
Near to them and to my wife,
I was happy all my life.

My three sons I married right,
And their sons I rocked at night;
Death nor sorrow never brought
Cause for one unhappy thought.

Now, and with no need of tears,
Here they leave me, full of years,--
Leave me to my quiet rest
In the region of the blest.

Edwin Arlington Robinson

graven lines: detalladas líneas, oraciones
do not pity me: no te compadezcas de mí
though (although) I be among the dead: aunque me encuentre entre los muertos
let no mournful word be said: no pronuncies palabras luctuosas o discursos apesadumbrados
children that I leave behind: los niños que dejo
I rocked: mecí, arrullé
sorrow: pena, congoja, aflicción
with no need of tears: sin necesidad de lágrimas
blest = blessed: benditos, bienaventurados

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