Comentários sobre um poema


Poema: "Things That Could Happen" de Jacob Sam-La Rose

1. She swoons, falls into his arms
 and they live happily ever after.

E tem toda aquela alegria suspense e doçura inacreditável que sufoca. A irrealidade dos sonhos – as crianças que correm e fazem ciranda.

2. She kisses him: the restaurant applauds.

Explosões de momentos inquietos.

3. There’s a pin-drop silence. She turns
 the knife in her hand, slowly.

Respiro.
Um
Dois
Três
…Não há espaço para a hesitação quando se tem no corpo um silêncio estonteante.

4. His heart bursts in his mouth before he can say the words.
 It splatters the table, ruins her dress, and she never forgives him.

São longos espaços vermelhos e ele sabe, mais do que sente, toda a desaprovação – seu corpo está vazio, oco, e por isso mesmo consegue inflar-se com a indignação do outro.

5. He’s interrupted by a handsome man from another table 
who asks if he can cut in. She accepts, of course,
 and waltzes off to an orchestra of cutlery, side-plates,
 strummed napkins and warm bread. He seethes, turns bald
 and tells the story to every man he meets.

Nisso não há nada a não ser a vida que nem sempre tem seus pontos interligados e pessoas com olhos cegos ao que arrepia os braços.

6. She falls in love with the waiter.

E ele espera e olha de longe.

7. She falls in love with the waitress.

Ele afasta-se sem saber direito o porquê.

8. She starts by saying she’s quitting the country,
 that there’s nothing in London to keep her.

Ao invés de pedir silêncio, desnudar a alma que desabrocha, fecha todos os botões e diz que sim, que entende.

9. He loses his voice, has to write it all down.
 She spills a glass of wine, the ink blurs and swims
 across the page. I’m sorry she says, and he nods,
 his eyes turning to crystal.

Comprovação pura de que palavras são inúteis. Lá fora, canta um pássaro.

10. They laugh.

Corta-se abrupto o ar ----- prefere-se não saber. Sim, ignoremos.

11. They have passionate sex in the single toilet.
 Outside, a lengthening queue tuts and frets.
 Someone presses their ear to the door.

Transmuta-se, transfere, despe, desfaz.

12. She doesn’t believe him.

Pensa em dizer de novo e de novo e de novo até a eternidade. Muda de ideia, sente raiva da obstinação, como ela não vê, esquece que nem sempre temos clareza para dentro.

13. They have 3 children. Some night, she tells them
(again) how their father won her heart 
over chicken gyoza and ebi katsu.
 Whenever he hears this, something in him rises 
like a bull-chested spinnaker.

Na verdade, a vida está entre gestos microscópicos, nas pressões das mãos quando se encontram, nos olhos escuros, nos nós dos dedos que embranquecem.

14. Her mobile rings. The moment falls, like a crumb,
to the napkin in her lap. She brushes it away.

Ele pensa em ir embora, esconder-se no escuro e quente, como um animal acuado.

15. He learns a new language—says it in French or Swahili.
 She’s mightily impressed, but doesn’t understand.

Ela disfarça, olha para os lados, tenta captar um som, um rabisco de palavra, e sorri bem lentamente, tentando amá-lo em estrangeirismos.

16. She chokes on a noodle. The tips of her fingers turn blue 
as she fights for breath, and fails. Later, he learns to love 
the bite of alcohol and numbs his tongue with ice.

As noites são mais longas que os dias e a vida é gélida sequência de probabilidades já mortas.

17. She chokes on a noodle. He Heimlichs her. 
She sees him in a different light,
 as he dabs the sparkling sputum 
from her lips.

Sente vergonha de ter corpo humano, não ser pura abstração, quer que ele a desculpe, vê os olhos dele tão atenciosos, continua ofegando.

18. He watches the way she eats 
and thinks better of saying anything.

Porque perdeu-se aquele encanto, não devagar, mas sim como se removem pontos de sutura. Um rasgo só.

19. Before he can speak, she leans across the table,
 fingers barely touching the corners of his mouth,
 and says I know, already. I know.

A poesia infinitesimal da vida. 

An idea for a melodramatic plot

And because she loved him, she could not take the leap - it would ruin his carefully ladden future, it would cripple him. And so she stayed and married another and never sighed and carried herself stoically. And so he went and climbed to heights unthinkable and to sights of glory and to halls of silence. Their eyes met everyday - there was no word exchanged that did not carry the weight of their sacrifice.