• XIII

Cuando, entre las demás, de mi señora
viene, a veces, Amor en el semblante,
cuanto en belleza va ella por delante,
tanto crece el afán que me enamora.

Yo bendigo el lugar, y el tiempo y hora,
en que miré a una altura semejante.
y digo: «Da las gracias, alma amante,
por ser de tanto honor merecedora.

De ella es el amoroso pensamiento
que, siguiéndolo, al sumo bien te envía,
teniendo en poco lo que el vulgo ansía;

de ella viene la osada gallardía
que te encamina al cielo, con aliento
tal que, esperando, ufano ya me siento.»
----- Francesco Petrarca

• LA TONTERÍA OSCURA

Hay un abismo de tonterías en las calles…
Yo lo sé, tierra.
Tú lo sabes, patria.
Nosotros lo sabemos, amor.
Los hombres más hombres de ayer
son príncipes azules.
Ciegos cambiaran sus ojos por el cine
del padre de sueños lejanos,
sueños de niños en niñez sola.

Y las mujeres son niñas…
Niñas en las calles de tonterías:
No saben que el agua no tiene color
como dicen los hombres,
solo saben que los hombres son ciegos
y guías de la revolución,
el pan hueco de la luna que hurta
el mundo y los corazones pedigüeños.

No saben que la modestia de saber
es un homicida
y que saber todo es morir todos los días
como hace Dios en la cruz
que tengo en mis pensamientos,
en mis deseos de matar la revolución,
¡la revolución de hambre!,
tu padre ciego por un cielo negro.

La tontería es un abismo
y las calles que no miras son peñascos,
peñascos de azúcar.
Virgílio Brandão
29-12-2010

Imagem: Na primavera, Renoir

• DESIDERATA

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
----- Max Ehrmann

Image: Modèles de Lumière — Vladimir Kush.

The tyger - William Blake

| ABUSES AND AWARDS

A poet can't be in disfavour,
he needs no awards, no fame.
A star has no setting whatever,
no black nor a golden frame.

A star can't be killed with a stone,
or award, or that kind of stuff.
He'll bear the blow of a fawner
lamenting he's not big enough.

What matters is music and fervour,
not fame, nor abuse, anyway.
World powers are out of favour
when poets turn them away.
----- Andrei Voznesensky