Thursday 8 January 2015

Sonnet XIX by William Shakespeare (in English)



Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;
Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws,
And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood;
Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st,
And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time,
To the wide world and all her fading sweets;
But I forbid thee one most heinous crime:
O! carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow,
Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen;
Him in thy course untainted do allow
For beauty's pattern to succeeding men.
   Yet, do thy worst old Time: despite thy wrong,
   My love shall in my verse ever live young.

Wednesday 7 January 2015

"Ahasverus e o Gênio" by Castro Alves (in Portuguese)



ao poeta e amigo J. Felizardo Júnior



Sabes quem foi Ahasverus?...— o precito,
O mísero Judeu, que tinha escrito
Na fronte o selo atroz!
Eterno viajor de eterna senda...
Espantado a fugir de tenda em tenda,
Fugindo embalde à vingadora voz!

Misérrimo! Correu o mundo inteiro,
E no mundo tão grande... o forasteiro
Não teve onde... pousar.
Co'a mão vazia — viu a terra cheia.
O deserto negou-lhe — o grão de areia,
A gota d'água — rejeitou-lhe o mar.

D'Ásia as florestas — lhe negaram sombra
A savana sem fim — negou-lhe alfombra.
O chão negou-lhe o pó!...
Tabas, serralhos, tendas e solares...
Ninguém lhe abriu a porta de seus lares
E o triste seguiu só.

Viu povos de mil climas, viu mil raças,
E não pôde entre tantas populaças
Beijar uma só mão ...
Desde a virgem do Norte à de Sevilhas,
Desde a inglesa à crioula das Antilhas
Não teve um coração! ...

E caminhou!... E as tribos se afastavam
E as mulheres tremendo murmuravam
Com respeito e pavor.
Ai! Fazia tremer do vale à serra...
Ele que só pedia sobre a terra
— Silêncio, paz e amor! —

No entanto à noite, se o Hebreu passava,
Um murmúrio de inveja se elevava,
Desde a flor da campina ao colibri.
"Ele não morre", a multidão dizia...
E o precito consigo respondia:
— "Ai! mas nunca vivi!" —

O Gênio é como Ahasverus... solitário
A marchar, a marchar no itinerário
Sem termo do existir.
Invejado! a invejar os invejosos.
Vendo a sombra dos álamos frondosos...
E sempre a caminhar... sempre a seguir...

Pede u'a mão de amigo — dão-lhe palmas:
Pede um beijo de amor — e as outras almas
Fogem pasmas de si.
E o mísero de glória em glória corre...
Mas quando a terra diz: — "Ele não morre"
Responde o desgraçado: — "Eu não vivi!..."

Tuesday 6 January 2015

Untitled Poem by José Thiesen (in Portuguese)

Ao F. M. Pires

Vou pela estrada de minha vida
só e sempre só.
Nela, o ar é seco e o pó me sufoca -
via tão triste.
De vez em quando te vejo no caminho,
meio longe, meio perto,
mas é só miragem: nunca estás onde te vejo,
eu só e sempre só.

Friday 2 January 2015

“12 Angry Men” by Reginald Rose (in English)

[Juror #9 has pointed out that the witness across the street had marks on her nose, indicating that she normally wore glasses]
Juror #8: [to Juror #4] Do you wear glasses when you go to bed?
Juror #4: No. I don't. No one wears eyeglasses to bed.
Juror #8: It's logical to assume that *she* wasn't wearing them when she was in bed - tossing and turning, trying to fall asleep!
Juror #3: How do *you* know?
Juror #8: I don't *know* - I'm guessing! I'm also guessing that she probably didn't put her glasses on when she turned to look casually out of the window - and she herself testified the killing took place just as she looked out, the lights went off a split second later - she couldn't have had *time* to put them on then! [stops #3 from stopping him]  Here's another guess: maybe she honestly thought she saw the boy kill his father - I say she only saw a blur!
Juror #3: How do you know *what* she saw? How does he know all that? How do you know *what* kind of glasses she wore? Maybe they were sunglasses, maybe she was far-sighted! What do you *know* about her?
Juror #8: I only know the woman's eyesight is in question now!
Juror #11: She had to be able to identify a person sixty feet away, at night, without glasses.
Juror #2: You can't send someone off to die on evidence like that!
Juror #3: Oh, don't give me that.
Juror #8: Don't you think the woman *might* have made a mistake?
Juror #3: [stubbornly] No!
Juror #8: It's not *possible?*
Juror #3: No, it's not possible!
Juror #8: [gets up and speaks to Juror #12] Is it possible?
Juror #12: [nods] Not guilty.
Juror #8: [goes to #10] You think he's guilty?
[#10 shakes his head "no"]
Juror #3: *I* think he's guilty!
Juror #8: [ignores #3; goes to #4] How about you?
Juror #4: [looks at #8, pauses, then shakes head] No... I'm convinced. Not guilty.
Juror #3: [shocked, having just lost all support] What's the matter with ya?
Juror #4: I have a reasonable doubt now.
Juror #9: Eleven to one!

Thursday 1 January 2015

Untitled trova by Pedro Ornellas (in Portuguese)



O acerto, sim, amedronta,
mas creio que estamos quites:
Para os meus erros sem conta
Deus tem perdão sem limites.

Wednesday 31 December 2014