When Azorean poetry speaks again, in another tongue
green island by Aníbal C. Pires
São Miguel stretches out into the sea
its peaks whisper in the dense mists
its body is an irregular green carpet
covering the black lava
entwined by the Archangel
the lagoons enchant travelers
Sete Cidades Lagoa do Fogo Furnas
mirrors of water that shine
in dormant craters
wheat woad orange
wealth generated by labor
destiny of hunger and poverty
in the hands that sowed and reaped
fortune for the landowners
feet that walk the island
pilgrims who carry the pain
of an entire people
in the bags covered by shawls
faith walks barefoot
it is like hunger
when it knocks at the door
in Espírito Santo bread is shared
from the poor for the poor
like those who give what they can
and cannot
between deep ravines
streams run
and we remain
fulfilling the cycles
that were destined for us
until when!?
Aníbal C. Pires
Ponta Delgada, June 2025
Translation by Diniz Borges
Across the wide Atlantic, the sea carries more than tides — it carries the whispered dreams of islands. The Second Voice of the Sea gathers the poetry of the Azores and releases it anew in English, so each verse may breathe again in another tongue. Through the alchemy of translation, this Filamentos project from Bruma Publications at the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute, Fresno State, preserves the winds, the salt, and the saudade of the archipelago, offering them to readers far from its shores. Here, the ocean becomes a page, and the page, an endless sea.
This project is sponsored by the Luso-American Education Foundation.
Filamentos (artes e letras) 