Time for another Camilo Pessanha poem. This one has given me more trouble than others, and while I'm not really satisfied with parts of my translation I don't think I'm capable of improving on it at this point. Perhaps when my Portuguese is better and I have a better grasp of Pessanha's poetics.
As has been the case with my other translations of Pessanha's poems, I've tried to stick as closely to the original as I can. This results in the loss of the rhyme and rhythm of the original, and my translation- and pretty much anyone's, I'd wager- suffers for it, but there's no way to maintain the rhyme scheme in English. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.
Madalena
...e lhe regou de lágrimas os pés, e os
enxugou com os cabelos da sua cabeça.
Evangelho de S. Lucas
Ó Madalena, ó cabelos de rastos,
Lírio poluído, branca flor inútil...
Meu coração, velha moeda fútil,
E sem relevo, os caracteres gastos,
De resignar-se torpemente dúctil...
Desespero, nudez de seios castos,
Quem também fosse, ó cabelos de rastos,
Ensanguentado, enxovalhado, inútil,
Dentro do peito, abominável cómico!
Morrer tranquilo, — o fastio da cama...
Ó redenção do mármore anatómico,
Amargura, nudez de seios castos!...
Sangrar, poluir-se, ir de rastos na lama,
Ó Madalena, ó cabelos de rastos!
***
Magdalene
...and she washed his feet with tears, and
dried them with the hair of her head.
Gospel of Saint Luke
Oh Magdalene, oh trailing hair,
Polluted lily, useless white flower...
My heart, old useless coin,
Indistinct, the features worn down,
Shamefully pliant in resignation...
Despair, nudity of chaste breasts,
Those who also were, oh trailing hair,
Bloody, soiled, useless,
Within your breast, abominable comedian!
To die peacefully — the tedium of bed...
Oh redemption of anatomical marble,
Bitterness, nudity of chaste breasts!...
To bleed, pollute yourself, crawl through the mud,
Oh Magdalene, oh trailing hair!
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