Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

António Franco Alexandre

dwelling places III (11)

when they wake up, they’ll ask
by what presage, what carelessness
this imprint of a hand was left
on the stone cliff.
A hunting ritual? A way to bring rains
from far lands, where the shroud of complete

solitude dissipates? It could be that
I’ve made ignorance into the most exact
form of memory, or that these delusions are enough
for me as the stiff blowing wind whines louder
in my bicycle, or that the brain, slapped together,
is the missing part in the clock,

the extra letter in the earth that guides us
to the lighthouse.

Terceiras Moradas (11)

Terceiras Moradas (11)

acordados, virão
perguntar por que presságio, que desleixo
ficou esta mão gravada
em precipício de pedra;
Rito de caça? promessa
de chuvas além-terra, aonde o manto

da inteira solidão se desvanece?
Talvez, da ignorância, tenha feito
a mais precisa forma de memória. Ou me baste
essa visão de enganos, quando o vento sopra
mais forte no rumor da bicicleta;
ou seja o crânio, à pressa encomendado,

a peça no relógio que faltava,
a letra a mais na terra, que ao farol nos guia.
Close

dwelling places III (11)

when they wake up, they’ll ask
by what presage, what carelessness
this imprint of a hand was left
on the stone cliff.
A hunting ritual? A way to bring rains
from far lands, where the shroud of complete

solitude dissipates? It could be that
I’ve made ignorance into the most exact
form of memory, or that these delusions are enough
for me as the stiff blowing wind whines louder
in my bicycle, or that the brain, slapped together,
is the missing part in the clock,

the extra letter in the earth that guides us
to the lighthouse.

dwelling places III (11)

when they wake up, they’ll ask
by what presage, what carelessness
this imprint of a hand was left
on the stone cliff.
A hunting ritual? A way to bring rains
from far lands, where the shroud of complete

solitude dissipates? It could be that
I’ve made ignorance into the most exact
form of memory, or that these delusions are enough
for me as the stiff blowing wind whines louder
in my bicycle, or that the brain, slapped together,
is the missing part in the clock,

the extra letter in the earth that guides us
to the lighthouse.
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Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
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