saudades
(deep, deep
heart- and soul-felt
connection and homesickness;
melancholy yearning)
i have a love for o Brasil
like no other place
it’s blending of peoples,
brazilian portuguese
(the singing phrases of the nortestinos;
the “sh, sh, sh” of cariocas, o povo adoráveis de Rio Janeiro;
the “(a)rs” of the mato grossenses;
the “trems” of mineiros;
the “ches” of gauchos)
its landscape of praias, montanhas, cerrados, grandes rios, cachoeiras, selvas
the very basic but intriguingly varied
mandiocas e outras comidas
i have a love for o Brasil
like no other place
………………………………
sacanagen
(a dirty trick
played on someone …
sort of like trump, bolsonaro, duterte, et al.)
i have a love for o Brasil
like no other place
nevertheless
brazilian culture
can be confounding;
it can play dirty tricks on you
indigena, africana, orientais, europeus …
são uma BELA mistura
de samba, jeitos agrícolas, espiritualismo, e muito mais…
but there is also
terrible racism
terrible disparity
terrible walls … and tough to break bubbles. …
(one small matter
perhaps flippant
but confusing to our texan minds
when we arrived in campo grade 1981 …
at least initially …
“Não! … Fica! Fica! … Stay! Stay!”
really meaning
“Damn, you’ve been here for hours.
Go home!”) …
brazilian culture
can be confounding;
it can play dirty tricks on you
understanding tricks, jeitos maus, piadas, palavrões …
understanding culture, tribe, a country
to a large extent
means learning the language …
and learning it well!
my about twenty to forty words
(or fewer)
in Polish or Lakota definitely won’t do.
my command of Portuguese and Spanish
has to be improved.
i even need to work
much harder
at English and Texan
(as spoken in various regions, Lands, barrios, …)!
brazilian culture
can be confounding;
it can play tricks on you
…………………………….
my dear friend sylvia
has introduced me to a wonderful poet
Elizabeth Bishop
and i intend to get to know her better
(that feeling is truly intense!)
gringa Elizabeth knew and loved …
leme and copacabana and flamengo and ouro preto and especially petrópolis
places near and dear to my own heart … especially petrópolis … and its strudel
i know so little of Elizabeth
but of this i am sure
she and i have been victims of …
brazilian saudades … AND
sacanagen
Elizabeth wrote …
“Is it lack of imagination that makes us come
to imagined places, not just stay at home?
Or could Pascal have been not entirely right
about just sitting quietly in one’s room?
Continent, city, country, society:
the choice is never wide and never free.
And here, or there… No. Should we have stayed at home,
wherever that may be?”*
…………………………..
of this i am sure
Elizabeth and i have been victims of …
brazilian saudades AND sacanagen
victims of deep longing love
as well as dirty tricks
victims of the saudades e sacanagen
of much on this earth … on this eaarth
***************************************
*From: “Questions of Travel” by Elizabeth Bishop.
pbm 6/17/20
[ 7 S’s / VV->^^ ]
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/elizabeth-bishops-misunderstood-brazil
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/sep/11/william-boyd-elizabeth-bishop-brazil
