Alberto Estima de Oliveira — O Diálogo do Silêncio / The Dialogue of Silence 42

42


abre-se uma porta
outra se fecha
o ciclo continua


...
esta a
essência do medo
impávida
ausente


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42


one door opens
another closes
the cycle continues


...
this is the
essence of fear
undaunted
absent

Alberto Estima de Oliveira — O Diálogo do Silêncio / The Dialogue of Silence 41

41


no rosto
da janela

    chove

embaciando
meus olhos
com seu hálito


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40


on the face
of the window

    it's raining

fogging up
my eyes
with its breath

Alberto Estima de Oliveira — O Diálogo do Silêncio / The Dialogue of Silence 40

This one was (and still is) very tricky to translate, and as usual with poems like these, I'm not very happy with how it came out. Two things tripped me up: the use of articles in the lines beginning with "a sombra", and those lines in general. The articles here can read as both possessive and directional, which works great in Portuguese but not really in English; and there's a sort of mirroring going on in those lines, where the middle two ("contrastes/da janela") act as the focal point for the two above and below. Maybe I'm misunderstanding that, but that's how I tried to render it. Finally, Estima de Oliveira is doing something by contrasting parts of a window, and I think I get it, but I'm currently incapable of explaining what exactly he's going for.

DAS

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40


mirante: janela exposta

no recorte
dos destroços
a flor
no vaso

...

janela
o pórtico
das estrelas

cortina

pano de boca
do proscénio
interior

a sombra
dos caixilhos
    contrastes
    da janela
as grades
    a penumbra.


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40


viewpoint: exposed window

framed against
the rubble
a flower
in a vase

...

a window
portico
of the stars

drapery

the stage curtain
of the inner
proscenium

the shadow
of the sash
    the window's
    contrasts
the grills
    twilight.
    

Alberto Estima de Oliveira — O Diálogo do Silêncio / The Dialogue of Silence 39

39


o sol
nasce dos teus olhos
nas manhãs
de agosto

como as primeiras flores
da primavera

lá colho o mel
que gosto


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39


the sun
rises from your eyes
on august
mornings

like the first flowers
of spring

there i gather the honey
that i like