Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

José Miguel Silva

VIEW ONTO A COURTYARD - 10

An ardent fan of period films, childhood
skips up the cinema staircase, heart aflutter,
to feast eyes on the dashing swashbucklers,
on the heroes’ wrathful beauty.

The reckoning of justice, the ideal gunshots,
convey the certainty that evil
has been surrounded in the gorge
and, with only two bullets left, is bound to lose.

The dim light in the theater fosters the illusion,
which dissolves amid the laughs that surround him
at the exit, where his schoolmate all agree:
you’re the villain, you can be the water boy.

VISTA PARA UM PÁTIO/DEZ

VISTA PARA UM PÁTIO/DEZ

A infância gosta de filmes de época.
Sobe a trote a escadaria do cinema, alado o coração,
ao encontro dos melhores espadachins,
da colérica beleza dos heróis.

O acerto da justiça, os tiros ideais,
comunicam-lhe a certeza de que o mal
está cercado no desfiladeiro:
só lhe restam duas balas – vai perder.

A pouca luz da sala determina a ilusão.
Desfeita com os risos que o cercam
à saída, quando a massa dos colegas delibera:
tu és o vilão, ficas na baliza.
Close

VIEW ONTO A COURTYARD - 10

An ardent fan of period films, childhood
skips up the cinema staircase, heart aflutter,
to feast eyes on the dashing swashbucklers,
on the heroes’ wrathful beauty.

The reckoning of justice, the ideal gunshots,
convey the certainty that evil
has been surrounded in the gorge
and, with only two bullets left, is bound to lose.

The dim light in the theater fosters the illusion,
which dissolves amid the laughs that surround him
at the exit, where his schoolmate all agree:
you’re the villain, you can be the water boy.

VIEW ONTO A COURTYARD - 10

An ardent fan of period films, childhood
skips up the cinema staircase, heart aflutter,
to feast eyes on the dashing swashbucklers,
on the heroes’ wrathful beauty.

The reckoning of justice, the ideal gunshots,
convey the certainty that evil
has been surrounded in the gorge
and, with only two bullets left, is bound to lose.

The dim light in the theater fosters the illusion,
which dissolves amid the laughs that surround him
at the exit, where his schoolmate all agree:
you’re the villain, you can be the water boy.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère