A Stone from the Rio Verde
Translated from the Portuguese by Alexis Levitin
to José Godoy Garcia, expert in stones and poetry
A stone from the Rio Verde
engenders a river in my house
flowing subterraneous
beneath the carpet of the living room.
A stone from the Rio Verde
mocks our six faucets
spitting their bits of water
on the ceramic of our sinks.
A stone from the Rio Verde
laughs at the tiny territory
where, imprisoned, I can’t stretch out
laughs at my closed window
a defense against the rain.
A stone from the Rio Verde
feels sorry for the caladiums
in their potted exile.
It despises the fan
the pittance of its breeze.
Dethrones all clocks
so superficial in their handling of time.
A stone from the Rio Verde
bursts open my wooden doors
and, returning to mother earth,
sets me free again.
Osiris 92
Osiris Poetry 