The Cátedra Natália Correia from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) at Fresno State continues to commemorate the 100th birthday of poet Natália Correia by publishing weekly segments in English translation dedicated to her work.

Insomnia
Insomnia. I open the window.
In the abyss of starry solitude.
It is restless the peace and a feeling
Of no time going from the moon to nothingness.
Is this the instrument of a sinister god
Of submitting me in figurative death?
Astral silence. Static torment
In eternal insomnia that inspires the still time.
An agonizing octopus sucks my blood.
Marginating my delirious thought
Specters of prostitutes on the boulevard.
My eyelids are heavy. The idea of falling asleep
is rotting. The day already clears
On a tender branch of the tree of life.
Translated from Portuguese by Diniz Borges

