Erhabene Poesie: "A Borboleta Vermelha" by Helena de Sousa
Published 2016.
“A Borboleta Vermelha” = “The Red Butterfly”
Bear with me, because this preamble is going to take a while.
The issue: "Free Verse vs. Blank Verse vs. Rhymed Verse".
Upon reading this volume, the poem that immediately resonated within me was “Limonada” (Lemonade), and I'll use it to make my reasoning:
“Limonada”
I can see you as you are…
White burning flame
Coming with the tides of sea
Dazzled look upon the mist in the sky
Honored heart lost in the translation of times
I can see you as you are…
Summer flavored laughter
Impetuous spirit tied in chains
I can see you as you are…
Free in the deepness of the blue sea
I can see you…
Naqueles breves momentos
Em que as palavras de Rilke ainda ecoavam no ar
O meu coração palpitava em desassossego
E os teus olhos enchiam-se de emoção,
Permanecemos assim firmes na praia
Com o espírito cheio e inquieto
Contemplando a vastidão do mar
Como dois amantes
Envolvidos no abraço do vento…
(My attempt at saying the unsayable regarding the last stanza:
“In those brief moments
Where the words of Rilke still echoed in the air
My heart pounded in unrest
And your eyes filled with emotion,
We remained firm on the beach
With the spirit filled and restless
Contemplating the vastness of the sea
Like two lovers
Involved in a wind embrace...”
)
In, “A Borboleta Vermelha”, Helena de Sousa, Chiado Editora, 2016
If you're into poetry of the blank verse, free verse, and rhymed verse kind (with Shakespeare thrown in as well for good measure), read on.
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