Poem
Florbela Espanca
MAKE WAY FOR DEATH
Make way for Death, the Illuminated,Who comes to take me from this world.
Fling wide open all the doors
Like flapping wings of birds in flight.
What am I here? The disinherited,
Who with her hands seized the moonlight,
The dream, the earth, the sea, all life,
Then opened her hands, and found nothing!
O Mother, dear Mother, why were you born?
Why, tell me, amidst such agonies
And horrid pains did you carry me
Inside you?... Just so that I could be
The bitter fruit that in evil hour
Was given birth by a lily’s womb!...
© Translation: 2015, Richard Zenith
From: 28 Portuguese Poets: a Bilingual Anthology
Publisher: Dedalus Press, Dublin, 2015
From: 28 Portuguese Poets: a Bilingual Anthology
Publisher: Dedalus Press, Dublin, 2015
Deixai Entrar a Morte
Deixai Entrar a Morte
Deixai entrar a Morte, a Iluminada,A que vem para mim, pra me levar.
Abri todas as portas par em par
Como asas a bater em revoada.
Que sou eu neste mundo? A deserdada,
A que prendeu nas mãos todo o luar,
A vida inteira, o sonho, a terra, o mar,
E que, ao abri-las, não encontrou nada!
Ó Mãe! Ó minha Mãe, pra que nasceste?
Entre agonias e em dores tamanhas
Pra que foi, dize lá, que me trouxeste
Dentro de ti?... Pra que eu tivesse sido
Somente o fruto amargo das entranhas
Dum lírio que em má hora foi nascido!...
© 1934, Florbela Espanca
From: Reliquiae
From: Reliquiae
Poems
Poems of Florbela Espanca
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MAKE WAY FOR DEATH
Make way for Death, the Illuminated,Who comes to take me from this world.
Fling wide open all the doors
Like flapping wings of birds in flight.
What am I here? The disinherited,
Who with her hands seized the moonlight,
The dream, the earth, the sea, all life,
Then opened her hands, and found nothing!
O Mother, dear Mother, why were you born?
Why, tell me, amidst such agonies
And horrid pains did you carry me
Inside you?... Just so that I could be
The bitter fruit that in evil hour
Was given birth by a lily’s womb!...
© 2015, Richard Zenith
From: 28 Portuguese Poets: a Bilingual Anthology
Publisher: 2015, Dedalus Press, Dublin
From: 28 Portuguese Poets: a Bilingual Anthology
Publisher: 2015, Dedalus Press, Dublin
MAKE WAY FOR DEATH
Make way for Death, the Illuminated,Who comes to take me from this world.
Fling wide open all the doors
Like flapping wings of birds in flight.
What am I here? The disinherited,
Who with her hands seized the moonlight,
The dream, the earth, the sea, all life,
Then opened her hands, and found nothing!
O Mother, dear Mother, why were you born?
Why, tell me, amidst such agonies
And horrid pains did you carry me
Inside you?... Just so that I could be
The bitter fruit that in evil hour
Was given birth by a lily’s womb!...
© 2015, Richard Zenith
From: 28 Portuguese Poets: a Bilingual Anthology
Publisher: 2015, Dedalus Press, Dublin
From: 28 Portuguese Poets: a Bilingual Anthology
Publisher: 2015, Dedalus Press, Dublin
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