In the ear­ly light
you are the young woman
run­ning wild
through the thigh-high, tus­socky, savan­na grass ;
dark hair caught by the wind ;
Sipali­wini’s spin­dle plain
open­ing up its zoom lens
to the first shutter
of dawn.

The for­est is behind you now.

All you ever want
is to reach the moun­tains of Mamia.
Your compass
has urged you to go there -
to strad­dle the land
before the first fil­ter of sunlight
blazes the earth
electric.

You pick up its static,
goose­flesh bristling all over your skin
at this sud­den new departure.

Noth­ing can hold you now.

All your ener­gy is ful­ly charged.
Anoth­er hour
and you’ll be up on the heights
rub­bing shoul­ders with Amapa -
arms hug­ging the border -
your first love
revealed.

  

*Ama­pa is a state in North Brazil on the bor­der with Surinam.

Tra­duc­ere de Ioana Vîlcu

 

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