Nothing Else Moves on the Page

nothing else moves on the page
no iridescent eye of ink foretells
the fate of this body

fingers glitter in the earth’s humus
and I,
indifferent to the tongue’s drowsiness,
listen to the echo of a love long buried

I rest my head in the light and forget everything
inside this delirious amphora

I descend with the rust-slow patience of beasts
to the nerve where the mouth seeks the south
and the places once inhabited—
ah my friend,
you took so long to return from that journey

the sea rose to the step of aging mornings
flooded the body broken by a calm disillusion

this is how I learned to die without you,
a ballpoint pen driven into the heart

—Al Berto, from O Medo -Translated by DB

Mais Nada se Move em Cima do Papel

Our PBBI-Fresno State Project

Roots and Wings: Portuguese Poetry in Translation is a series that gathers voices from Portugal and introduces English language readers to a tradition at once intimate and expansive, where the rhythms of saudade echo across the Atlantic and the light of new lands refracts into verse.

Each poem is a journey: from the ancestral lands to homes throughout the English-speaking world, from classic poets who shaped a language to contemporary voices writing freedom, justice, and love into the present. Together, these poems are bridges between generations, geographies, and languages.

For Portuguese communities in North America, this series is a return to origins, a reclaiming of memory, and a celebration of their shared heritage. For all readers, it is an invitation to discover a lyrical heritage that speaks to the universal human condition — the desire for home, the ache of distance, and the wonder of words that, like wings, transcend borders.

This project is sponsored by the Luso-American Education Foundation.

Become a Member of LAEF -Use the link below

https://event.auctria.com/5e89c412-a9f1-41b4-a429-1fad5b362180/