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.

THE GIFT

She gave me a kiss
on my birthday.
Said it was special,
a gift to remember.

It felt like such bliss
I didn’t know what to say,
as if the beauty of May
had come back in November.

YELLOW BRICK ROAD

Photo by Papel Químico

Place I’ve never been
Sight I’ve never seen
Colourful walls
I am waiting to touch
Cheerful gravel paths
I want to walk so much...
Stay,
Hold your beauty!
I’m on my way.

AFTERTHOUGHT

How hard it was
for me to listen
and not be able to speak.

How sad I felt,
how disappointed,
for hiding, with no one to seek.

How awkward
that you should want to read
but not hear...
and continue so far
when near.

COBBLED THOUGHTS

Neat-looking
but insanely bound.
It takes a strong hoe
to crush the weeds
that grow between them,
to make them seem sound.

Lucid Lullaby

The wind is mad
The land is sore
The sea is dead
The birds will sing
No more.


Tell me when the end will come,
Tell me who will survive.

Let the truth lull me to sleep,
And then keep me alive.

COMPANY

I chose to wander
without a compass
because
- I claimed -
there was more beauty
in the unknown.


But you followed
with your good sense
because
- you explained -
the woods are dangerous
if you walk alone.

CHAOS

Flickering deadly lights
And the sound of thunder
In my mind.

Restless winds moaning
And sweeping my thoughts way
Reason gone for the day
Passion ruling the house
Virtue with her hands on her head
And the cat
Poisoned by the mouse.

Prayers forgotten, and God
thought of as some stranger
Revenge blinded by pride
And pride by pain
Words erased by anger
Constancy insane.


Oh, how would it turn out to be
If you weren’t here with me?

TO A GOOD WRITER

How can I love you and why?
You are but a collection
Of infinite writings
And love is far too strong a word.

Amazing, how you say the right things!
You ‘re a distant, invisible man,
A voice I’ve never heard.

How come I feel so excited
When you tell me what you think, or do?
I don’t know why I love you so
But it’s true:
I am relieved, like a caged bird,
When I open a message from you.

Purple inspiration

Beautiful jacaranda,
You make it all worthwhile.

I look away from the waste,
the graffiti, the poo
(bloody birds and dogs
seem to plot against you!)
I ignore the noise,
the dirty smell in the air,
and focus on your poise,
your elegant way
of simply being there
despising the hours
of draught and solitude,
the delicate purple
of your flowers,
your slim trunk
proudly in the nude...

It’s a blessing that you’re there,
a beautiful sight for me to stare.

Church bells

Dong...dong...
The end came
long before its time.
But lo,
a new beginning
makes the bells chime
once more!

Wouldn’t you think
that after all these years
the sound of church bells
should have been made different
depending on whether
they celebrate life
or remind us of our fears?

At the right place at the wrong time

Useless words
that speak of unleashed love
and impossible desire
Useless flame
that burns coldly
in this fake, imitation fire

Useless thoughts
of how perfect it would be
Useless longing for a future dawn
that we will never see...

Be still, hush, go away
for the timing was not right
and even though this is the place
One of us did not come to stay.

The difference

You come and go
I stay.

You forget about me
and live your life
between work
and play;
you worry about
things that matter
like what other people do
or say.
I just linger here
getting fatter
thinking
and dreaming away.

PLAYING WITH FIRE

Take me out
buy me lunch
Tell me I’m beautiful
Time and again...

Look me in the eye
Keep the flame alive
Let’s both live a lie
While I drive...

And then

When you hear me sigh
And nothing’s left to say
Just let me cry
And pray...

The cheerful wall

shiny
summery
cool and protective
you hide a whole world
inside you.
But only those
holding the key
can go in
and see.

Save your words

Save your words.
Follow the clever silence
Of your fingertips
And reach out for the touch.

Soon enough you will learn
Words are of no use
In preserving or reviving
What we can’t but must
Do without.
No point in whispering
No need to shout.

The pain of loss
Clings to the memory
With claws of fear
For what is yet to lose.

So, save your words
And have the courage to refuse
What you don’t know
How to receive
Have the courage to kill
What is asking you to live.

AUTUMN'S HARVEST

PRESENT PERFECT

It is truly amazing
how perfectly we fit.
We are so well adapted
to each other...
You´re like a long wished for
siamese brother.

But then,
come to think of it,
aren’t we all
made to suit
one another?