MISGROWN

How can you tell
that you’re grown up?
Do you one day
simply wake up
and say
that’s it,
no more dolls for me?

Do you start wearing heels
and being sexy?
And making up
And making out?

And what if you never
- throughout your life -
find out what growing
is all about?

GENTLE BIRD

Gentle bird,
Please bring me down to earth!
Flying so high
With you
Is a dream
Come true;
But I am dizzy now,
My lover awaits me,
I’ve been gone too long.

So bring me back
From the sky
Down to light grey
From bright blue.

Literal happiness

We read and write
day and night,
we communicate
with each other
and ourselves.
Book upon book,
our lives
are gathered
on our shelves.

The words we bear
and bring to light,
the dreams we share,
the wrongs made right
all seem to have one purpose,
at least to me:
to make us feel alive
and close together
to make us both feel happy
and free.

Lost in thought

I could be mistaken
I could be foolish or crazy
I could be wise, maybe,
Or simply lazy


But I would love to get lost
inside your head.

The wise and the wild

I feel wild
when I go against the flow
to be me...
I feel irrationally free.

But you seem wise
when you do the same;
You don’t seem to get burned
By the flame.

Wisdom, my friend,
Is your valuable shield.
But I hope that,
When I come near,
You will yield.

SOUL MATES

There’s an inexplicable
Incredible
Ineffable
feeling
Inside.

I feel like the sand
being constantly
smoothly
lovingly
bathed
by the tide.

It is all in my head,
you say,
and I know,
but, my dear friend,
even so,
I’d rather
rejoice with a fulfilling dream
than achieve a wise,
frustrating thought.

HAND IN HAND

Ours
is the joy
Ours
the grief
Ours the dream
and the belief.

Ours to split
Ours to share
Ours forever
Here and there.

EASY

It would have been so easy
just lying there, gazing
at the different hues
of the greens
and the browns
and the blues...

Oh, life would be so easy
If only I could choose.

BY THE SHORE

Out there, by the shore,
There’s an infinity of paths
For us to explore.

Out there we shall walk
We shall wander, hands entwined,
And we don’t need to talk.

I want to take you there
Kiss you there
and tell you,
with our bare feet
buried in the sand,
That I can be your best lover
as well as your best friend.

THE FOOLISH WISE POET AND MY GRANDPARENTS

They are not fools,
as Larkin said.
They are just fading
withering slowly
and perhaps,
yes,
going slightly mad.


They have come to a point
when their minds alone
can help them forget
what’s become of them
and, worse,
what’s coming!...
but they’re not fools
made of skin and bone.


You’re right, though,
“we shall find out”
But you,
old fool,
you’re already just the shadow
of a doubt.

to a good student

You were just another someone
And yet
I liked you more than the others.

You were keen and sharp
And oh, so handsome...
It was a pleasure
- a privilege -
To have you there,
Staring at me.

Now you’ve given up
And gone away
I wonder...
Could I have made you stay?

APRIL FOOLS

We think Spring
has come to stay
and the rain
has gone away.
We feel happy
and warm
and free,
I love you
and you love me.

LIVING IN A BOX

I’m living in a box
and I don’t mind;
I don’t look at it much
from the outside.

I’m living in a box
but that’s ok,
‘cause when the door locks
I do things my way.

I’m living in a box
which is all right:
all houses are equal
when you sleep at night.

I’m living in a box
and that’s terrific
‘cause when I die
I know I won’t miss it.

SUICIDAL NOTE

Here I am,
living.
Using my time,
in this life,
somehow.

I guess
that if I was meant
to be a genius
I would have known
by now.

BLUE

Blue is the water
That catches my eye
Today is a good day to cry.

Blue is the distance
Between you and I
No day is a good day to ask why.

Blue is the feeling
Grey is the sky
Today is a good day to die.

PROUDLY WRONG

You came
into my life, like a blessing,
and I did nothing
but moan

You offered
to listen and give me advice
but I insisted
in being alone

You left
because I wouldn’t change
so, I cried in despair
and said you were unfair...
But it’s strange:
I have always known
that I’d stay on my own.

HELPLESSNESS

I've just been left here,

that's what it feels like.

Won't somebody come

and pick me up?

Please?

Now?

THE HUG

there was a huge silence.
no words were ever invented
to express our joy
and relief.

I gave in at last
allowed myself to shun the past
and the world was within us
for a moment
although it was brief.

A Serpente

Sai da sombra
a serpente subtil
e segue, sibilante,
o seu caminho.

Sabe que, se avançar
sorrateira, sem som,
há-de surpreender
algum ratinho.

Sempre solitária
serpenteando, sensual,
sobre o sedoso capim,
suave e serena,
será sempre assim.

Rio

Marvellous city
where the poor are kings
in a strange way
and the rich are scared
and keep themselves at bay,
Amazing town
where nature rules
and Christ too,
where we, tourists, are fools:

I am in love with you.