quinta-feira, 5 de maio de 2011


Portuguese Haikus (translated by Sónia Oliveira)


Six euros and twenty cents,
Says the cashier;
He’s an accountant.


Thirty-two years serving tables,
The mother looks like the grandmother
When she was little.


A golden ring
Everything stays the same.
For how long?


A diploma in hand,
For those who don’t know
What to do.


An unlit cigarette in
the café ashtray:
What now?


The seconds pass and
What they bring
Is not expected.


One more day.
Not this one, but tomorrow
it will be.


Pharmacy bill paid,
A few more days of life
Hungry.


The viaduct is a really big house,
For those who do not own a
Small one.


“Where are your children?”
Someone asks.
“Abroad.”


"We have to endure sacrifices..."
And another lie is told
Without costing too much.


The swallows always return
Whenever, whichever,
the president.



João Bosco da Silva