Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Nuno Júdice

Ethics

I stand before the sea, before its waves,
before the tides stirred by September, before the grays
and blues that alternate with strange greens;
a voice speaks of madness, or of the empty gaze
of fish, or of a topic dried up like seaweed
at low tide; a wind swept the beach
in the silence of afternoon, restoring an ancient unity
to the body of the waters. The sea, meanwhile, thinks
it has been forgotten. Its depths guard the images
no longer preserved in dreams, arms that grasp
onto shipwrecked masts. An abstract ship
sails slowly over the horizon that the morning didn’t see,
passing to the other side of the earth, oblivious
for the time being to the music of the ports. The poem,
I was told, didn’t notice this distraction: it crossed
the boundary of eternity, donned nocturnal
words, and allowed death to contaminate it.
From the shore I don’t perceive this; and I recite it
slowly, repeating in a low voice
all of its contradictions.

Ética

Ética

Chego em frente do mar, das suas ondas,
das marés que setembro enfurece, dos cinzentos
e azuis que alternam com verdes estranhos;
uma voz trata da loucura, ou do olhar vazio
dos peixes, ou de um tema ressequido como as algas
da maré baixa; um vento percorreu a praia,
no silêncio da tarde, devolvendo ao corpo das águas
uma unidade antiga. O mar, no entanto, supõe
que o esqueçam. Nos seus fundos dormem as imagens
que o sonho já não guarda; braços que se agarram
aos mastros do naufrágio. Um barco abstracto
passou devagar pelo horizonte que a manhã não viu,
entrando no outro lado da terra, esquecido
por instantes da música dos portos. O poema, disseram-me,
ignorou essa distracção: atravessou
o limite da eternidade, vestiu-se com as palavras
nocturnas, deixou que a morte o contaminasse.
À beira-mar, não dou por isso; e digo-o,
devagar, repetindo em voz baixa
todas as suas contradições.
Close

Ethics

I stand before the sea, before its waves,
before the tides stirred by September, before the grays
and blues that alternate with strange greens;
a voice speaks of madness, or of the empty gaze
of fish, or of a topic dried up like seaweed
at low tide; a wind swept the beach
in the silence of afternoon, restoring an ancient unity
to the body of the waters. The sea, meanwhile, thinks
it has been forgotten. Its depths guard the images
no longer preserved in dreams, arms that grasp
onto shipwrecked masts. An abstract ship
sails slowly over the horizon that the morning didn’t see,
passing to the other side of the earth, oblivious
for the time being to the music of the ports. The poem,
I was told, didn’t notice this distraction: it crossed
the boundary of eternity, donned nocturnal
words, and allowed death to contaminate it.
From the shore I don’t perceive this; and I recite it
slowly, repeating in a low voice
all of its contradictions.

Ethics

I stand before the sea, before its waves,
before the tides stirred by September, before the grays
and blues that alternate with strange greens;
a voice speaks of madness, or of the empty gaze
of fish, or of a topic dried up like seaweed
at low tide; a wind swept the beach
in the silence of afternoon, restoring an ancient unity
to the body of the waters. The sea, meanwhile, thinks
it has been forgotten. Its depths guard the images
no longer preserved in dreams, arms that grasp
onto shipwrecked masts. An abstract ship
sails slowly over the horizon that the morning didn’t see,
passing to the other side of the earth, oblivious
for the time being to the music of the ports. The poem,
I was told, didn’t notice this distraction: it crossed
the boundary of eternity, donned nocturnal
words, and allowed death to contaminate it.
From the shore I don’t perceive this; and I recite it
slowly, repeating in a low voice
all of its contradictions.
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