For you I abandoned my mother,
And all alone I left her,
Without once considering if she had anything to eat
Until a night came when I dreamt that she was dead
I raced like a crazy man to look for her,
But I didn't find her

I found out that my poor mother,
Not knowing what else to do,
Would go door to door
Begging for food
She spent her old age
Sleeping in a corner of a church
Probably freezing to death
But without ever uttering a complaint

With one of her neighbors
She left me a note
That almost couldn't be read
For all her tears had streaked the ink.
“Child of my soul,” it said,
“be good to the woman who took you from my side,
for I've already forgiven her.
And if god should grant you a child, speak to him often of me.
Tell him not to abandon you, like you did to me.
If he has your black eyes and he looks like you,
give him the kiss that your mother left for him before dyin