Cais do Avesso · A Laje · Portuguese original
A Mangueira
Brazilian Portuguese originals
Todo fim de tarde,
ele desenrola a mangueira no quintal.
Prende a ponta no ombro
e sobe sem pisar nos degraus molhados.
A água chega fraca no começo.
Cospe ar, bate no cimento.
O cimento escurece
onde o jato passa.
O vapor do dia sobe junto.
Ele molha até a beirada,
sem pisar no meio.
A sola deixa marcas atrás dele.
No terceiro dia, a mangueira dobra no canto.
A água para.
Ele desce dois degraus
e solta a dobra com o pé.
Lá embaixo, o jantar bate panela.
Uma criança chama da janela.
Ele responde sem largar a ponta.
A água escorre pelo cotovelo.
No sétimo dia,
uma faixa seca antes das outras.
Ele volta sobre ela duas vezes.
O sol já saiu do quintal.
No oitavo, ele sobe sem a mangueira.
Passa a palma no cimento.
Tira a mão depressa.
Limpa a mão na bermuda.
Cais do Avesso · A Laje · Translation
The Hose
Translation · A Mangueira
At the end of every afternoon,
he unrolls the hose in the yard.
Hooks the end over his shoulder
and climbs without stepping on the wet stairs.
The water arrives weak at first.
Spits air, strikes the concrete.
The concrete darkens
where the stream passes.
The day’s heat rises with it.
He waters as far as the edge,
without stepping in the middle.
His soles leave marks behind him.
On the third day, the hose kinks at the corner.
The water stops.
He goes down two steps
and frees the kink with his foot.
Down below, dinner clatters in pans.
A child calls from the window.
He answers without letting go of the end.
Water runs down his elbow.
On the seventh day,
one strip dries before the others.
He goes over it twice.
The sun has already left the yard.
On the eighth, he climbs without the hose.
Runs his palm over the concrete.
Pulls his hand away quickly.
Wipes it on his shorts.
