Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen

Sibyls

Sibyls inside adamantine caves,
Totally loveless and blind.
Feeding emptiness like a sacred fire
While shadow dissolves night and day
Into the same light of bodiless horror.

Bring out here that monstrous dew
Of interior nights, the sweat
Of powers tied to themselves
When words strike the walls
In blind swoops of trapped birds
And the horror of having wings
Screeches like a clock in the void.

Sibilas

Sibilas

Sibilas no interior dos antros hirtos
Totalmente sem amor e cegas.
Alimentando o vazio como um fogo
Enquanto a sombra dissolve a noite e o dia
Na mesma luz de horror desencarnada.

Trazer para fora o monstruoso orvalho
Das noites interiores, o suor
Das forças amarradas a si mesmas
Quando as palavras batem contra os muros
Em grandes voos cegos de aves presas
E agudamente o horror de ter as asas
Soa como um relógio no vazio.
Close

Sibyls

Sibyls inside adamantine caves,
Totally loveless and blind.
Feeding emptiness like a sacred fire
While shadow dissolves night and day
Into the same light of bodiless horror.

Bring out here that monstrous dew
Of interior nights, the sweat
Of powers tied to themselves
When words strike the walls
In blind swoops of trapped birds
And the horror of having wings
Screeches like a clock in the void.

Sibyls

Sibyls inside adamantine caves,
Totally loveless and blind.
Feeding emptiness like a sacred fire
While shadow dissolves night and day
Into the same light of bodiless horror.

Bring out here that monstrous dew
Of interior nights, the sweat
Of powers tied to themselves
When words strike the walls
In blind swoops of trapped birds
And the horror of having wings
Screeches like a clock in the void.
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Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
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