Bom dia, folks. Here we have another Camilo Pessanha poem, which has no official title and thus is known by its first line. "Na cadeia os bandidos presos!" appeared in the first edition of Clepsydra, not one of the later ones that included additional poems. I think there's an argument to be made that what didn't make it into Clepsydra doesn't mean Pessanha didn't want it published, but I can't say for sure without doing more research.
The more time I spend with Pessanha's poems, it feels increasingly necessary to push beyond straightforward translations and toward looser, more expansive interpretations. This doesn't mean that Pessanha's structure and sonorousness get left behind (which they may already have been, if my translation sucked), but rather that I want to present them in a way better suited to English expression, and that reflects more of my reading of the poem.
One step in this direction is finding a way to deal with much of his punctuation, which feels unhelpfully old-fashioned. I won't go so far as to say it's useless, but even in Portuguese, I often find it little more than a distraction, a sort of non-verbal flourish that doesn't add much to the experience of reading the poem, whether silently or aloud. Anyway, that's a subject I can explore at another time, whereupon I'm sure I'll think differently after giving the matter more thought.
The following poem is interesting in light of Pessanha's career as a lawyer and judge. I don't know when it was written—I probably have the date around here somewhere, if it exists—but it really doesn't matter, since Pessanha the poet and Pessanha the jurist coexisted for about the same amount of time. Here he seems much more sympathetic to the imprisoned than to the authorities, which echoes the disdain he received from some of his colonial contemporaries for being too easy on Chinese defendants in Macau's courts, or something along those lines. Whatever the case, it's clear that having much sympathy for non-whites, much less those accused of crimes, was frowned upon in Pessanha's day.
I'm not sure what exactly he's referencing when he mentions the "Campo florido das Saudades"/"Flowery field of longing", assuming he's even referencing anything. That line, as well as the "Estranha taça de venenos"/"Strange cup of poisons" one, is a jarring, intriguing interruption into the poem's observations of self and other, and I find myself wondering about both of them quite a bit.
As always, this is a work in progress. Enjoy!
Abraço,
D.A.S.
***
"Na cadeia os bandidos presos!"
Camilo Pessanha
Na cadeia os bandidos presos!
O seu ar de contemplativos!
Que é das feras de olhos acesos?!
Pobres dos seus olhos cativos.
Passeiam mudos entre as grades,
Parecem peixes num aquário.
— Campo florido das Saudades,
Porque rebentas tumultuário?
Serenos... Serenos... Serenos...
Trouxe-os algemados a escolta.
— Estranha taça de venenos
Meu coração sempre em revolta.
Coração, quietinho... quietinho...
Porque te insurges e blasfemas?
Pschiu... Não batas... Devagarinho...
Olha os soldados, as algemas!
***
"The criminals in prison—"
Camilo Pessanha
The criminals in prison—
They have the air of contemplatives!
Where are the beasts with burning eyes?
Poor wretches, with their captive stares.
Roaming mutely behind the bars,
They look like fish in a tank.
— Flowery field of longing,
Why are you in an uproar?
Serene... serene... serene...
The guard brought them in in shackles.
— Strange cup of poisons
My heart always in revolt.
Heart, be quiet... be quiet...
Why do you rise up and blaspheme?
Hush... don't beat... slow down...
Watch for the soldiers, the shackles!
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