cinco estrelas
senhor da guerra
o medo, sabemos, é tua arma mais
poderosa
só não mais que nossas utopias
transcontinentais
senhor da guerra
teu míssil – um dia – explodirá no vazio
do teu túmulo de flores amarelas
senhor da guerra
nada, porém, nada impedirá
nossos sonhos de paz
five stars
warlord
fear, we know, is your most powerful
weapon
only not more so than our
transcontinental utopias
warlord
your missile – one day – will explode in the void
of your tomb of yellow flowers
warlord
nothing, but nothing will stop
our dreams of peace
_______________________________________________________________________________________
es steht geschrieben
“o trágico ainda continua sendo
possível, embora não mais a
tragédia pura”. Dürrenmatt.
sim, o povo não come.
sim, ainda há muita fome.
sim, o povo passa fome.
es steht geschrieben
“the tragic is still
possible, but no longer
pure tragedy”. Dürrenmatt.
yes, the people don’t eat.
yes, there is still a lot of hunger.
yes, the people are hungry.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
suspiro
clarividente, mostro os dentes.
é assim que se
atesta a qualidade dos cavalos.
ao primeiro relâmpago
seguro o medo e
aguardo o miraculoso estrondo do trovão.
sorrateiro, murmuro sombras
diante da página branca:
espelho vazio de mim. o agora longevo frio inverno e
de céu azul, em breve explodirá
em flores brancas de cagaita e ipês.
inocente, irei torcer
pelo fim do desmonte
da nossa frágil democracia.
sigh
clairvoyant, I show my teeth.
this is how to attest
the quality of the horses.
at lightning’s first flash
I hold back my fear and
wait for the miraculous crash of thunder.
sneakily, I whisper shadows
before the white page:
empty mirror of me.the now long cold winter
and blue sky will soon explode
in white cagaita and ipês flowers.
innocent, I will cheer
for an end to the dismantling
of our fragile democracy.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
paz…ciência…
a tarefa
do medo e do terror
é a deles
a nós
cabe a arte do amor
e da p a c i ê n c i a
peace… science…
the task
of fear and terror
is theirs
for us
the art of love
and p a t i e n c e
_______________________________________________________________________________________
mísseis hipersônicos
os surdos
senhores da guerra
de alma crua
e nua
em plena rua
sempre
sempre
sempre
erram o alvo
hypersonic missiles
the deaf
warlords
with crude raw
and naked souls
on the street
always
always
always
miss the target
Translated by Indran Amirthanayagam
Marcos Freitas is a Brazilian poet, lyricist, editor, and composer. He has published over a hundred technical and scientific articles in Brazilian and international journals and symposium proceedings, as well as over 70 books and 50 chapters in technical and literary books, authored and co-authored, in 13 languages. He is a member of the National Writers' Association (ANE), the National Writers' Union (UBE), and the Academia de Letras do Brasil (ALB).