Happy what's left of me after I'm gone
If only one of the songs sung
Lives beyond the person singing in me now.
Yet I would not save from the slaughter
A single one of the songs I sang and sing.
Instead from the entrails of oblivion
I would steal the laughter of children
And the age of the proverb.
And so to those who come
I would offer intact the enigma of light
Conceição Lima (born 1961) São Tomé and Príncipe
Translated by Stefan Tobler and The Poetry Translation Workshop
Source: Poetry Translation Centre
If only one of the songs sung
Lives beyond the person singing in me now.
Yet I would not save from the slaughter
A single one of the songs I sang and sing.
Instead from the entrails of oblivion
I would steal the laughter of children
And the age of the proverb.
And so to those who come
I would offer intact the enigma of light
Conceição Lima (born 1961) São Tomé and Príncipe
Translated by Stefan Tobler and The Poetry Translation Workshop
Source: Poetry Translation Centre
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please keep your comments relevant and free from abusive language. Thank you. Note that comments are moderated so it may be a day or two before your comment is posted - irrelevant or abusive comments will not be published.