Monologue and Explanation
“But I didn’t rack my gun’s slide,
I didn’t wipe the muzzle oil,
they say that war kills: mine
immediately tore me down upon arrival.
“Thus, there weren’t any sieges, bullets
deterring this forced convict.
He was seen at table with big books,
Big mugs and big terrified hands.
“He was seen at night pissing on the planks
or the thinning blades of grass.
Gazing the hills as if he understood
the slumber of placid earth.
“Leafing through surviving papers
He presently recalls how cold it was.
They say wars fade into the past: mine
Passed into my bones and I can’t shake it off.”
In: “A Musa Irregular”, ASA, Lisboa, 1996 (2nd ed.)
[my translation — Portuguese version at http://bibliotecariodebabel.com/geral/quatro-poemas-de-fernando-assis-pacheco/]
