Poem
António Osório
The Tractor Speaks
I don’t like this grasshopper body.I’m constant, I tremble, others use me,
a slave of the land. I tear open and lay flat.
Through me runs a shaft of painful, serene
transmission. It’s hard to drag
a cow to its grave. I’ve already injured
a leg. I hate the weight of the trailer.
Five years and I still don’t understand these
grimy parts that turn inside me.
At least the power shovel roars
(I love her). Scrap iron makes me shudder.
© Translation: 2008, Richard Zenith
FALA O TRACTOR
FALA O TRACTOR
Não gosto deste perfil de gafanhoto.Constante sou, trepido, usam-me,
servo da gleba. Rasgo e acamo,
tenho um veio de dolorosa, serena
transmissão. Custa levar de rojo
uma vaca à cova. Esmaguei já
uma perna. Detesto o peso do reboque.
Cinco anos e ainda não percebo estas
sujas peças que rodam em mim.
A escavadora, ao menos, uiva
(amo-a). Não me agrada a sucata.
© 1978, António Osório
From: A ignorância da morte
Publisher: Author\'s edition, Lisbon
From: A ignorância da morte
Publisher: Author\'s edition, Lisbon
Poems
Poems of António Osório
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The Tractor Speaks
I don’t like this grasshopper body.I’m constant, I tremble, others use me,
a slave of the land. I tear open and lay flat.
Through me runs a shaft of painful, serene
transmission. It’s hard to drag
a cow to its grave. I’ve already injured
a leg. I hate the weight of the trailer.
Five years and I still don’t understand these
grimy parts that turn inside me.
At least the power shovel roars
(I love her). Scrap iron makes me shudder.
© 2008, Richard Zenith
From: A ignorância da morte
From: A ignorância da morte
The Tractor Speaks
I don’t like this grasshopper body.I’m constant, I tremble, others use me,
a slave of the land. I tear open and lay flat.
Through me runs a shaft of painful, serene
transmission. It’s hard to drag
a cow to its grave. I’ve already injured
a leg. I hate the weight of the trailer.
Five years and I still don’t understand these
grimy parts that turn inside me.
At least the power shovel roars
(I love her). Scrap iron makes me shudder.
© 2008, Richard Zenith
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