22 de Marco
A primeira vez que li
o poema de Wallace Stevens
“Esthetique du Mal”
li mal
eu li
“a maior poesia*
´e n˜ao viver
num mundo f´ısico”
quando o que ele escreveu
foi “a maior
pobreza**´e n˜ao
viver num
mundo f´ısico”
com globos de fruta
na mesa ou um cacho
de bananas e uvas
azuis numa ta¸ca de cristal
*poetry **poverty
tr. Francisco José Craveiro de Carvalho from fanzine #16
March 22
The first time I read
Wallace Stevens's poem
"Esthetique du Mal"
I misread it
I read
"the greatest poetry
is not to live
in a physical world"
when what he wrote
was "the greatest
poverty is not
to live in a
physical world"
with globes of fruit
on the table or a bunch
of bananas and blue
grapes in a crystal bowl.
"March 22" by David Lehman, from The Evening Sun: A Journal in Poetry (Scribner 2002)