Translated by Edite Cunhã and M.B. McLatchey
Seis Poemas da seção “Ferocidades” : Estranheza. Portuguese version por Publicações Dom Quixote, Lisboa, 2018
Six Poems from the “Ferocities” section of the book (The book’s title would be translated in English as Strangeness.)
VILEZA
Como se ignorasse
as turvações da vileza
onde se abriga a saudade
diante da tanta ardência
eu canto a minha
selva
savana, seiva, silêncio
e os meus animais selvagens
as lobas da ardileza
as panteras da saudade
as raposas da astúcia
Destemor e liberdade
desssosseo e argúcia
VILANY
As if ignoring
the clouds of villainy
that shelter yearning
before so much burning
I sing my
wilderness
savannah, sap, silence
and my wild animals
the she-wolves of cunning
the panthers of longing
the foxes of craft
Fearlessness and freedom
disquiet and argument
BRASA
Devagar estendo a mão
e toco o covil da fera
no meu peito em brasa
a arder de paixão
a vida inteira
Iludindo as asas
EMBER
Slowly I extend my hand
and touch the beast’s lair
in my burning breast
burning with passion
all of my life
Deceiving my wings
PERGUNTAS
Onde se escondem
as feras encurrladas?
No desejo dos poetas?
Num soluço desamado?
No coração revoltoso
de um poema
atormentado?
QUESTIONS
Where hide
the cornered beasts?
In the desire of poets?
In the unloved sob?
In the rebellious heart
of a poem
tormented?
OS OLHOS DOS LEOPARDOS
Desde quando
os leopardos
guardam as asas
dos anjos?
Olhos de perdição
numa errância sombria
sempre adiando a prisão
e a sua penumbra fria
THE EYES OF THE LEOPARD
Since when
do leopards
guard the wings
of angels?
Eyes of doom
in a dark wandering
always delaying capture
and its cold gloom
A FACA
Não deixo que se avizinhem
me entregue
de mão beijada
pois de grado
sou espinho
picando quando me invadem
Se me impedem
de ser eu
regresso ao meu destino
enveneno por prazer
tiro a faca da ilarga
enterro-a devagarinho
até ao fundo da chaga
THE KNIFE
I don’t allow them close
don’t surrender
to a kiss on the hand
by good grace
I am the thorn
piercing when they invade
If prevented
from being me
I regress to my destiny
I poison for pleasure
I take the knife
bury it slowly
to the pit of the wound
O MEDO
O medo constrói a sua cerca
de espinhos
com vagares, murmúrios
à nossa volta
Mas onde fica cancela
que dá para o caminho
pelo qual se vai até
à sombra da floresta?
Aí se abrigam
os nosos mais íntimos
animais ferozes
Os medos atrozes
FEAR
Fear builds its fence
of thorns
slowly, with murmurs
surrounds us
But where is the gate
that leads to the path
by which one arrives
at the shadowy forest?
There shelter
our most intimate
our most ferocious animals
Our most atrocious fear
“The great motivator of my life is poetry. I do not need to search for her. I open my eyes in the morning and there she is!”—Maria Teresa Horta
While poetry has been the prime force in Maria Teresa Horta’s life, she has also dedicated herself to award-winning journalism and fiction, and nation-changing activism and feminism. Outside of Portugal she is best known as one of The Three Marias who authored As Novas Cartas Portuguesas (The New Portuguese Letters, inspired by Letters of a Portuguese Nun, allegedly written by Mariana Alcoforado in 17th century). The New Portuguese Letters were planned and executed by its authors as an act of solidarity with all women and their common oppression, as well as a direct challenge to the censors of the then repressive regime of Antonio Salazar. The book was immediately banned and confiscated, catapulting the authors into a prolonged national legal case and international fame.
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