To die
To die with body and soul.
Completely.
To die without leaving the sad remains of the flesh,
the bloodless wax mask,
surrounded by flowers,
which will rot - happy! - some day
soaked in tears
bloomed not as much of nostalgia, as of fear of death.
To die without leaving by chance, a wandering soul...
on the way to heaven?
But which heaven can satisfy your heavenly dreams?
To die without leaving a wrinkle, a stripe, a shadow,
a memory of a shadow
in any heart, in any thought, in any epidermis.
To die completely
that one day when they read your name on paper
they ask: Who was he?
To die even more completely
without even leaving this name
Notes
To read the translation to English, click here
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/123836-Manuel-Bandeira-A-Morte-Absoluta
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Comments
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which heaven can satisfy your heavenly dreams?
gone without a trace what would prove that this life ever was... even the eternal wishes lost...without even a remembrance, so we ask what was a life and what was its legacy, and here in relief...so many answers... Bandeira to me at his best making a jigsaw of existence, and thw reader the eager child piecing it all together... wonderful poetry, and i sense the subtle irony of it all coming through in this translation...excellent work...PK
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Bandeira's companion piece to: http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/123834-Manuel-Bandeira-Preparation-to-Death but of course he had more than one that could compare.
The first touches more on life, the second the end, and helps define maybe what he meant by calling it "blessed" before.
What an idea, to leave cleanly, to leave no debris (so to speak) no remains that hint at an incomplete process...and in leaving, doing it completely, leaving no memory, nothing to remorse, to eulogize, to exaggerate.
I really like this one, yes I like everything of his, but this one especially...there is a yearning need here for that completeness...so as to give life it's final meaning.
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