O sister
now that the nights come early
and an immense sadness
hovers above everything
and the silence lingers for so long
turning the dogs insane on the streets,
sister, come to remind me
that we grew up together
when the days were long and different.
Sister, if you know the signs
to change the time, come.
Come because I want to leave
to other places
where seagulls be less useless
and where a heart can be found at each harbour;
and the seabirds
so cleansed and white
and so slow and aware of journeys
come to flap
above my pipe
where the comets of the sky faded.
Sister, on my rhythms
are friends who shout:
Daubler, Ehrenstein, Stramm, suicides,
vagabonds, lepers and prostitutes who
still remember their family prayers.
There are, somewhere, other air, other hills,
other limits...farewell sister.
O, what a long night,
o what such a long night!
What cries outside?
-The humanity, or some fountain?
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Comments
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The imagery of de Lima carries a thoughtful undercurrent, here the dogs and their sounds, the prostitutes and family prayers, the refrain like... "O sister"...the poem was strong in the idea of a connection of a shared part of life, then also to a place like home, perhaps lost to separation, then turns to the condition of people to end with the sudden awakening...what is crying in the night? and the questions of our sense of caring...this, once again, cannot be an easy task for the translator; to grasp these poignant, and philsophic ideas and interpret the deeply personal poetry of this brilliant writer... so impressive...PK
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I guess here "sister" is what? Everything he has known, life as he has known it?
Daubler, Ehrenstein, Stramm are apparently German Expressionists, not that knowing that helps me.
Lima isn't an easy fellow to understand.
Interesting poem but I'm rather clueless.
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