heran\u00e7a<\/b><\/p>\n
meu tio conta que certa vez ele vendia frutas num carrinho de m\u00e3o<\/span><\/p>\n imagino ma\u00e7\u00e3s e laranjas quicando nos degraus igual a voc\u00ea igual a mim e o medo de atravessar passarelas.<\/span><\/p>\n contra este \u00faltimo olhar fixo pra frente <\/p>\n inheritance\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n my uncle says that once he was selling fruit from a handcart just like you just like me and the fear of crossing footbridges.<\/span><\/p>\n for the latter <\/p>\n <\/p>\n rel\u00f3gios grandes<\/b><\/p>\n pouco tempo depois de a tia f\u00e1tima ir morar longe a tia f\u00e1tima gostava de ser fotografada na sala dos patr\u00f5es eu tamb\u00e9m n\u00e3o me importava com os rel\u00f3gios ontem soube que a tia f\u00e1tima morreu <\/p>\n big clocks<\/b><\/p>\n soon after aunt f\u00e1tima moved far away aunt f\u00e1tima liked to be photographed in the bosses\u2019 living room I didn\u2019t care about the clocks either yesterday I learned that aunt f\u00e1tima died <\/p>\n <\/p>\n teresa<\/b><\/p>\n a primeira vez que vi a segunda vez que vi os olhos alimentaram o fogo <\/p>\n teresa\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n the first time I saw the second time I saw the eyes fueled the flames <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n<\/span>meu av\u00f4 convulsionou atravessando a passarela
\n<\/span>e rolou pela escada<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>sem esperar pelo corpo do meu av\u00f4
\n<\/span>se debatendo em queda
\n<\/span>dando com a cabe\u00e7a em boc\u00e9is
\n<\/span>inconsciente das pedras e das partes quebradas<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>meu tio diz<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>que herdei a epilepsia
\n<\/span>de um homem que n\u00e3o conheci<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>desenvolvi uma esp\u00e9cie de procedimento<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>dar passos grandes
\n<\/span>e lembrar que ainda
\n<\/span>tenho um ch\u00e3o debaixo dos p\u00e9s.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>my grandpa had a seizure while crossing the footbridge
\n<\/span>and tumbled down the stairs<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>I imagine apples and oranges bouncing off the steps
\n<\/span>without waiting for my grandpa\u2019s body
\n<\/span>thrashing as he fell
\n<\/span>hitting his head on the tiers
\n<\/span>oblivious to the rocks and his broken parts\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>my uncle says<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>who inherited epilepsy
\n<\/span>from a man I never knew<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>I developed a sort of routine
\n<\/span>stare straight ahead
\n<\/span>take big steps
\n<\/span>and remember that still
\n<\/span>there is ground beneath my feet.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>encontrei uma caixa de sapatos moleca
\n<\/span>em que ela guardava lembrancinhas de anivers\u00e1rio
\n<\/span>e fotografias de v\u00e1rias \u00e9pocas com o ano anotado no verso<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>perto de rel\u00f3gios grandes
\n<\/span>os patr\u00f5es eram bons e n\u00e3o se importavam
\n<\/span>nem com as fotos nem com os rel\u00f3gios
\n<\/span>por isso ela acreditava que ganharia um de presente
\n<\/span>mas isso nunca aconteceu<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>(embora eu n\u00e3o fosse patroa)
\n<\/span>(embora eu fosse a sobrinha a filha a neta da empregada)
\n<\/span>e nas fotografias
\n<\/span>me chamaram mais aten\u00e7\u00e3o os ponteiros
\n<\/span>que \u00e0s vezes marcavam sete da manh\u00e3
\n<\/span>\u00e0s vezes onze da noite
\n<\/span>e a passagem do tempo no rosto da minha tia
\n<\/span>\u00e0s vezes liso
\n<\/span>\u00e0s vezes embrutado<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>imaginei suas \u00faltimas palavras
\n<\/span>acho que ela n\u00e3o teria perguntado por mim
\n<\/span>nem pela minha m\u00e3e ou pelos patr\u00f5es
\n<\/span>acho que ela teria perguntado as horas.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>I found a Moleca shoebox
\n<\/span>where she kept birthday party favors
\n<\/span>and photographs from different eras with the year written on the back<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>near the big clocks
\n<\/span>the bosses were kind and didn\u2019t care
\n<\/span>about the photos or the clocks
\n<\/span>so she believed she\u2019d get one as a gift
\n<\/span>but that never happened<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>(even though I wasn\u2019t a boss)
\n<\/span>(even though I was the niece the daughter the grandchild of housekeepers)
\n<\/span>and in the photographs
\n<\/span>what called my attention more were the clock hands
\n<\/span>which sometimes said seven in the morning
\n<\/span>sometimes eleven at night
\n<\/span>and the passage of time on my aunt\u2019s face
\n<\/span>sometimes smooth
\n<\/span>sometimes weathered<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>I imagined her last words
\n<\/span>I don\u2019t think she would\u2019ve asked about me
\n<\/span>not my mom or the bosses
\n<\/span>I think she would have asked the time.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>incendiarem um animal vivo
\n<\/span>n\u00e3o pensei na justi\u00e7a
\n<\/span>s\u00f3 pensei no corpo
\n<\/span>por que t\u00e3o pequeno]
\n<\/span>por que t\u00e3o sem alma<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>incendiarem as casas do meu bairro
\n<\/span>n\u00e3o pensei em mais nada<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>e Omolu dan\u00e7ou sob as palhas.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>a living animal set on fire
\n<\/span>I didn\u2019t think of justice
\n<\/span>I only thought about the body
\n<\/span>why so small
\n<\/span>why so soulless<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>the houses in my neighborhood set on fire
\n<\/span>I no longer thought of anything<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>and Omolu danced beneath the straw.<\/span><\/p>\nTranslated by Hannah McKenzie
\n<\/span>Poems from <\/span>Ningu\u00e9m quis ver <\/span><\/i>(Companhia das Letras, 2023)<\/span><\/a><\/h5>\nBuy<\/strong> books by the authors and translators featured in this issue on our Bookshop page!<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n
Photo: Brazilian writer Bruna Mitrano.<\/span><\/h6>\n