ABOUT
ABOUT
Chancellor Florida State Poets Association
Florida Poet Laureate Volusia County
Winner of 2011 American Poet Prize
Selected Poems of
Maria Teresa Horta
Translated by:
M.B. McLatchey and Edite Cunhã
Published in Alchemy, 2020
16
THE CONDITION OF THE VERSES
I am of the condition
of the verses
with eagerness rescued
I have a pact with the angels
I recognize the trace of light
I want the rigor of words
I sing the flame
of poetry
in the most bitter extravagance
I write the excess
with the pain of the blaze
in the desire to be the splendor
And if in each poem
I invent flight
with my poetic voice
I choose lava
DA CONDIÇÃO DOS VERSOS
Sou da condição
dos versos
com avidez resgatada
Tenho um trato com os anjos
conheço o traço da luz
quero o rigor das palavras
Canto a chama
da poesia
na desmesura mais amarga
Escrevo o excesso
com a pena do fulgor
no desejo de ser o esplendor
E se em cada poema
invento o voo
com a minha voz poética
eu escolho a lava
Copyright © 2019 M. B. McLatchey &
Edite Cunha, with permission. All rights reserved.
Published in Alchemy, Issue 17, Summer 2020
Copyright © 2017 Maria Teresa Horta,
from her collection Poesis.
Dom Quixote Publisher, Lisbon.