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.

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.