Poem
José Tolentino Mendonça
A STRAND OF HAIR
I abandon house and garden my place at the tablemy favorite jacket, folded on the bed
this almost banal truth
that was me all my life
I don’t open the door when people knock
(sometimes they knocked by mistake)
I don’t tally up certainties
what separates one form from another
has always escaped me
Yesterday the chilly air from the fields
began to be clearer
I thought it was just passing and it turned out
to be a secret that my body
was telling my body
once and for all
But when I fell to the ground
like a strand of hair
(one of those that fall early
from the head of a young man
and since no one notices
they’re all the more lost)
you were at my side
You set fire to cities
you drowned armies
in the red sea of your rage
you mortgaged precious lands
to be at my side
© Translation: 2006, Richard Zenith
O FIO DE UM CABELO
O FIO DE UM CABELO
Abandono a casa o horto o lugar à mesao casaco de que gostava, sobre o leito dobrado
esta verdade quase banal
que toda a vida fui
Não abro a porta quando batem
(às vezes batiam só por engano)
não avalio o balanço das certezas
o que separa uma forma da outra
sempre me escapou
Ontem começava a clarear
o ar frio que vinha dos campos
julguei-o de passagem e afinal
era um segredo que meu corpo
de uma vez por todas contava
ao meu corpo
Mas quando tombei sobre a terra
perdido como o fio de um cabelo
(aqueles que primeiro caem
da cabeça de um rapaz
e por não serem notados
são mais perdidos ainda)
estavas junto de mim
Lançaste ao fogo cidades
afogaste os exércitos
no vermelho mar da sua ira
hipotecaste terras tão preciosas
para estares junto de mim
© 2001, José Tolentino Mendonça
From: A Noite Abre Meus Olhos
Publisher: Assírio & Alvim, Lisbon
From: A Noite Abre Meus Olhos
Publisher: Assírio & Alvim, Lisbon
Poems
Poems of José Tolentino Mendonça
Close
A STRAND OF HAIR
I abandon house and garden my place at the tablemy favorite jacket, folded on the bed
this almost banal truth
that was me all my life
I don’t open the door when people knock
(sometimes they knocked by mistake)
I don’t tally up certainties
what separates one form from another
has always escaped me
Yesterday the chilly air from the fields
began to be clearer
I thought it was just passing and it turned out
to be a secret that my body
was telling my body
once and for all
But when I fell to the ground
like a strand of hair
(one of those that fall early
from the head of a young man
and since no one notices
they’re all the more lost)
you were at my side
You set fire to cities
you drowned armies
in the red sea of your rage
you mortgaged precious lands
to be at my side
© 2006, Richard Zenith
From: A Noite Abre Meus Olhos
From: A Noite Abre Meus Olhos
A STRAND OF HAIR
I abandon house and garden my place at the tablemy favorite jacket, folded on the bed
this almost banal truth
that was me all my life
I don’t open the door when people knock
(sometimes they knocked by mistake)
I don’t tally up certainties
what separates one form from another
has always escaped me
Yesterday the chilly air from the fields
began to be clearer
I thought it was just passing and it turned out
to be a secret that my body
was telling my body
once and for all
But when I fell to the ground
like a strand of hair
(one of those that fall early
from the head of a young man
and since no one notices
they’re all the more lost)
you were at my side
You set fire to cities
you drowned armies
in the red sea of your rage
you mortgaged precious lands
to be at my side
© 2006, Richard Zenith
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