Seu rosto Your face

Seu rosto

Seu rosto
é um pedaço de música
muda
        conforme o vento
mas eu o escuto
de longe, sem olvido
mesmo sem ver
e acompanho, de cor
o suspiro deste ah
mor rasgado
                 cego e só.
 

Your face

Your face
is a piece of music
mute
       as the wind
Yet I hear it
from afar, not forgetting
even without seeing
and I follow, by heart
the sigh of this ah-
more torn
             blind and alone
 

Your face

Your face
is a piece of music
mute
       as the wind              
but I listen to it
from afar, without forgetting
even without looking
and I follow, by heart
the sigh of this ah*
more torn
             blind and alone.
 

Another delicate lyric by Armando Freitas Filho that was a real pleasure to translate. As you’ll see, we retained the word-play in the original of ‘ah / mor’ (amor, love plus ah mor, bigger) as ‘ah / more’.

Sarah Maguire, Workshop Facilitator

Note on the literal translation:

*wordplay – ah/mor, amor = love or ah mor = ah, more (bigger. Archaic)

Francisco Vilhena, Literal Translator

Original Poem by

Armando Freitas Filho

Translated by

Francisco Vilhena with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

Portuguese

Country

Brazil