Portuguese Poetryrelated to water

A quick glance

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Summary

Poems from: António Gedeão “A lecture on Water” and “Black

Woman’s tears”

Manuel Alegre “Blue tears”

Mariana Correia ( a student in ESAG) “Water”

Portuguese Music : “Canção do Mar “ – Dulce Pontes

“Lição sobre a água“ – “ A Lecture on Water” António Gedeão

This liquid is called water. When pure it is odorless, tasteless and colourless. Reduced to steam, under tension and high temperature, it fires the pistons of engines, thus the term, steam-driven.

This liquid is a potent solvent. With some exceptions, but generally, it dissolves with equal efficiency acids, bases and salts. It freezes at zero centigrade and boils at 100, under normal pressure.

It was in this liquid one hot night of summer, under a viscous, white-camelia moon, that appeared the floating corpse of Ophelia with a lily in one hand.

I found a black womanWho was crying,I asked her a tearTo analyze. I collected tearsCarefullyIn a test tubeProperly sterilized I watched it on one side,And the other front:It had an air dropVery transparent.

 

I ordered the acids,Bases and salts;Drugs usedIn such cases.

I rehearsed the coldI tried to fire,All timesGave me what is usual:

 No signs of blackNo trace of hate.Water (almost everything)And sodium chloride. 

“Lágrima de Preta” – “A black woman’s tear” António Gedeão

“Lágrimas Azuis” - “Blue Tears” Manuel Alegre

Close your eyes they hurt meWhen I see them pain grows inside of meGrief made of salt and sea, its waterPortugal blue pain

By seeing them the pearls of salt of your eyesAre tears that I tasteBy seeing them I saw my people cryingPortugal blue tears

Close your eyes Paris moonlight is not big enoughTo hold that sorrowThat flies in your eyes but it’s not a bird

Or the wind or a flower. Just tears of salt,fruit of the Portuguese landYour eyes: tears of Portugal

“ Água”- “ Water” Mariana Correia

The entire planet knows meAnd I’m recognized by my purity and abundance!

Colourless, odorless, insipid,Molecule of hydrogen and oxygen.Mineral or natural,This is me in my original condition.

I wander through seas,Oceans, rivers and lakesTo the clouds I like to riseAnd on glaciers to remain.

Pollution is my enemy,It degrades my beauty andDestroys my purity

Now my resources are scarceSo if you take care of meI’ll never end!

SONG OF THE SEA - DULCE PONTES

I went to dance on my little boat

There in the cruel sea

And the sea was roaring

Telling me I went there to steal away

The peerless light

Of the beautiful look in your eyes

Come to find out if the sea is right

Come to see my heart dancing

If I go dancing on my little boat

I won’t go to the cruel sea

Nor will I tell it where I went

To smile, dance, dream, live… with you