“Poema” (Ney Matogrosso, 1999)
Source: Thiago Piccoli, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
As promised and in honor of his 84th birthday today (not to mention his biopic “Homem com H” or “Latin Blood” now on Netflix), below is a translation of Ney Matogrosso’s lovely poem from his 1999 album “Olhos de Farol” (“Lighthouse Eyes”).
“Poema”
Eu hoje tive um pesadelo e levantei atento, a tempo
Eu acordei com medo e procurei no escuro alguém com seu carinho
E lembrei de um tempo
Porque o passado me traz uma lembrança do tempo que eu era criança
E o medo era motivo de choro, desculpa pra um abraço ou um consolo
Hoje eu acordei com medo, mas não chorei nem reclamei abrigo
Do escuro, eu via um infinito sem presente, passado ou futuro
Senti um abraço forte, já não era medo
Era uma coisa sua que ficou em mim (que não tem fim)
De repente, a gente vê que perdeu ou está perdendo alguma coisa
Morna e ingênua que vai ficando no caminho
Que é escuro e frio, mas também bonito porque é iluminado
Pela beleza do que aconteceu há minutos atrás
“Poem”
Today I had a nightmare and I got up attentive, on time
I woke up afraid and looked in the dark for someone with your tenderness
And I remembered a time
Because the past brings me a memory of the time when I was a child
And fear was a reason to cry, an excuse for a hug or some consoling
Today I woke up afraid, but I didn’t cry or call out for shelter
From the dark, I saw an infinite lack of present, past or future
I felt a strong hug, it wasn’t fear anymore
It was something of yours that was left in me (that is endless)
Suddenly we see that we lost or are losing something
Warm and naive that is being left along the way
That’s dark and cold, but also beautiful because it’s illuminated
By the beauty of what happened minutes ago