Erhabene Poesie: "A Borboleta Vermelha" by Helena de Sousa

A Borboleta Vermelha - Helena Corrêlo

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.