Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Ruy Belo

ON THE HILL OF THIS MOMENT

A hint of absinthe fills the air when the beetles
emerging from the rotten bark of the old oaks
begin their flight in the month of june
Picking hazelnuts we walk through the garden
where the lindens’ aroma wafts in the breeze
The coolness of the fruit defeats the declining sun
We are who we used to be walking so softly
with so much childlike dignity
that here not even death would remember us
nor would the monstrous flower of other destinies
or any other of the republics of hatred
stir up the calm sea of this late afternoon
It is to the sacred celebration of chance
to the feast of the world’s mineral essence
that the sun is proceeding in this temple’s inner sanctum
The afternoon is everything and everything is pathways
We are the chosen assistants to this hour
Here summer’s insanity doesn’t arrive
and I quit loathing my ancestors
and I rise as the last light flickers
For a moment I am I and here no one died
O my life that process I left behind

Na Colina do Instante

Na Colina do Instante

Há um cheiro de absinto quando os capricórnios
da casca apodrecida dos carvalhos velhos
iniciam seu voo pelo mês de junho
Colhemos avelãs ao longo do jardim
onde as tílias ao vento espalham o aroma
A frescura da fruta vence o sol rasante
Somos quem fomos caminhamos tão de leve
temos tamanha dignidade de crianças
que nem a morte aqui de nós se lembraria
nem mesmo a monstruosa flor de outros destinos
nem qualquer outra das repúblicas do ódio
encresparia o calmo mar do fim da tarde
É à celebração sagrada do acaso
à festa da essência mineral do mundo
que o sol procede no segredo deste templo
A tarde é tudo e tudo são caminhos
Somos eleitos cúmplices da hora
Aqui não chega o desatino do verão
esqueço a aversão dos meus antepassados
e levanto-me sobre a derradeira luz
Por instantes sou eu ninguém morreu aqui
ó minha vida esse processo que perdi
Close

ON THE HILL OF THIS MOMENT

A hint of absinthe fills the air when the beetles
emerging from the rotten bark of the old oaks
begin their flight in the month of june
Picking hazelnuts we walk through the garden
where the lindens’ aroma wafts in the breeze
The coolness of the fruit defeats the declining sun
We are who we used to be walking so softly
with so much childlike dignity
that here not even death would remember us
nor would the monstrous flower of other destinies
or any other of the republics of hatred
stir up the calm sea of this late afternoon
It is to the sacred celebration of chance
to the feast of the world’s mineral essence
that the sun is proceeding in this temple’s inner sanctum
The afternoon is everything and everything is pathways
We are the chosen assistants to this hour
Here summer’s insanity doesn’t arrive
and I quit loathing my ancestors
and I rise as the last light flickers
For a moment I am I and here no one died
O my life that process I left behind

ON THE HILL OF THIS MOMENT

A hint of absinthe fills the air when the beetles
emerging from the rotten bark of the old oaks
begin their flight in the month of june
Picking hazelnuts we walk through the garden
where the lindens’ aroma wafts in the breeze
The coolness of the fruit defeats the declining sun
We are who we used to be walking so softly
with so much childlike dignity
that here not even death would remember us
nor would the monstrous flower of other destinies
or any other of the republics of hatred
stir up the calm sea of this late afternoon
It is to the sacred celebration of chance
to the feast of the world’s mineral essence
that the sun is proceeding in this temple’s inner sanctum
The afternoon is everything and everything is pathways
We are the chosen assistants to this hour
Here summer’s insanity doesn’t arrive
and I quit loathing my ancestors
and I rise as the last light flickers
For a moment I am I and here no one died
O my life that process I left behind
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
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