Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Márcio-André

knife in the water

knife in the water
slicing the water
 
water house
            the river and opposite
enormous cranes
            assembling even bigger cranes
 
this provisional state of life
            neither here nor there
            right in the middle
            and
            in the middle
the meeting of languages
 
it’s from the fluency of the accents
that individuality emerges among speakers
 
even the formula of the mouthwash
varies according to idiom
 
and                 
the feminine
             [fearful water]
between           two breasts fuller than peaches
                       
             in cruelty love rises
life is ridden by the frustration of each meeting
 
             we are only strong when we are serious
[the poem doesn’t inform life
but neither does life inform the poem]
             and we are only serious when we feel solitude

mes in het water

                        mes in het water
plakjes water snijdend
 
waterhuis
                        de rivier en langs de rivier
enorme kranen
                        die nog grotere kranen verwekken
 
deze voorlopige staat van leven
                        niet daar niet hier
                        pal in het midden
                        en
                        in het midden
de ontmoeting van talen
 
uit de vloeiendheid van tongvallen
verrijst de individualiteit tussen sprekers
 
want zelfs de formule van antiseptisch mondwater
varieert naar gelang het idioom
 
en
                        het vrouwelijke
                        [ vreselijk water ]
tussen              twee borsten die perziken overtreffen
 
                        in de wreedheid verschijnt de liefde
het leven bereden door de frustratie van iedere ontmoeting
 
                        wij zijn alleen sterk wanneer serieus
[het gedicht slaat geen acht op het leven
maar het leven slaat ook geen acht op het gedicht]
                        en wij zijn alleen serieus wanneer wij alleen zijn

faca dentro da água
fatiando água
 
casa d água
o rio e diante do rio
guindastes enormes
montando guindastes ainda maiores
 
esse estado provisório de vida
nem lá nem cá
plenamente no meio
e
no meio
o encontro das línguas
 
é na fluência dos acentos
que surge individualidade entre os falantes
 
pois até a fórmula do antiséptico bucal
varia conforme o idioma
 
e
o feminino
[ água terrível ]
entre    dois seios esmerando pêssegos
 
na crueldade surge o amor
a vida montada pela frustração de cada encontro
 
só estamos fortes quando sérios
[o poema não dá conta da vida
mas a vida também não dá conta do poema]
e só estamos sérios quando estamos sós
Close

knife in the water

knife in the water
slicing the water
 
water house
            the river and opposite
enormous cranes
            assembling even bigger cranes
 
this provisional state of life
            neither here nor there
            right in the middle
            and
            in the middle
the meeting of languages
 
it’s from the fluency of the accents
that individuality emerges among speakers
 
even the formula of the mouthwash
varies according to idiom
 
and                 
the feminine
             [fearful water]
between           two breasts fuller than peaches
                       
             in cruelty love rises
life is ridden by the frustration of each meeting
 
             we are only strong when we are serious
[the poem doesn’t inform life
but neither does life inform the poem]
             and we are only serious when we feel solitude

knife in the water

knife in the water
slicing the water
 
water house
            the river and opposite
enormous cranes
            assembling even bigger cranes
 
this provisional state of life
            neither here nor there
            right in the middle
            and
            in the middle
the meeting of languages
 
it’s from the fluency of the accents
that individuality emerges among speakers
 
even the formula of the mouthwash
varies according to idiom
 
and                 
the feminine
             [fearful water]
between           two breasts fuller than peaches
                       
             in cruelty love rises
life is ridden by the frustration of each meeting
 
             we are only strong when we are serious
[the poem doesn’t inform life
but neither does life inform the poem]
             and we are only serious when we feel solitude
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère