Sylvio Fraga
Translated from the Brazilian Portuguese by Sylvio Fraga
Bridge Over the River That Falls
I don’t want to hold hands with Carolina,
I want to be free as I walk.
Nothing more serene than a group of animals changing their minds.
Four thrushes gather around a broken avocado
and then hop away.
We also gather around broken things,
especially when the light is weak
and doves throw their daggers of soothingness.
We remember so little of our lives,
it seems almost a waste.
We observe the baby day by day, month by month,
then everything melts away into the same heavy bar of gold.
The albino guinea fowl thinks it’s camouflaged.
You’re in the little leagues!
In a real forest you’d be in the ocelot’s mouth.
Here there are no ocelots, only people listening to podcasts.
I love holding hands with my son.
Sylvio Fraga is a poet, songwriter and founder of the Brazilian record label Rocinante.