Plague Poems, I: "Two Guests"

Since society is slowly reconfiguring itself in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, I figured I'd write some poems about life under (quasi-)quarantine. I hope everyone is staying safe, being smart, and keeping their distance from other people. Now's a good time to catch up on your reading.


"Two Guests"

Two guests recently arrived
in the wake of a
halfhearted winter:

The plague feasts upon the
banquet laid out for it
in human lungs,
ignoring its terrified hosts'
screams of panic or denial.

The Cooper's hawk perches in the
live oak, picking off doves and
starlings, laughing its
staccato, taunting laugh,
boasting to its future mate.



3.31.20

"Rufando apressando" por Camilo Pessanha

Boa tarde, leitores. As societies and economies begin to unravel in the wake of the pandemic sweeping the globe, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around the enormity of the situation. I don't think I can, really, as it seems pretty clear that the effects of COVID-19 will be felt for years, and in the three months that it's been spreading things have already changed greatly, so who knows what things will be like a year from now.

Like a lot of folks, adjusting to a considerably circumscribed existence is proving to be more difficult than I imagined, but so far it's not too bad. It's hard to get motivated to work on translating projects, knowing that most of them will probably languish, unpublished, in the years to come, but it beats doing nothing. Among the writers I'm translating is (as always) Camilo Pessanha, as the title of this post should make clear. I did the first draft of this in 2018, I think, and polished it up a little earlier today.

I was inspired to do so by Tashiro Kaoru, a Japanese pianist based in Belgium, who first wrote me in late 2018 due to our shared interest in Pessanha's work. We've been corresponding ever since, and she's working on translating Clepsidra into Japanese. Now and then she asks for suggestions regarding the poems, and I help as best I can. Today was one of those days, and when I remembered I'd already translated this, I decided to post it here.

Enjoy, stay home if you can and away from other people if you can't, and remember: we'll only get through this together.

D.A.S.

-----

Rufando apressado,
E bamboleado,
Boné posto ao lado,

Garboso, o tambor
Avança em redor
Do campo de amor...

Com força, soldado!
A passo dobrado!
Bem bamboleado!

Amores te bafejem.
Que as moças te beijem.
Que os moços te invejem.

Mas ai, ó soldado!
Ó triste alienado!
Por mais exaltado

Que o toque reclame,
Ninguém que te chame...
Ninguém que te ame...


-----



Beating rapidly,
And swaying,
Cap to the side,

Dashing, the drum
Advances all around
The field of love...

Strength, soldier!
Double-time!
More swagger!

Lovers will smile upon you.
Girls will kiss you.
Boys will envy you.

But woe, oh soldier!
Oh sad, alienated one!
No matter how ardently

The bell makes its claim,
Nobody calls to you...
Nobody loves you...