Swan and Shadow

John Hollander

                       Dusk
                    Above the
               Water hang the
                                loud
                               flies
                            Here
                          O so
                         gray
                       then
                     What               A pale signal will appear
                    When           Soon before its shadow fades
                  Where        Here in this pool of opened eye
                  In us     No Upon us As at the very edges
                   of where we take shape in the dark air
                    this object bares its image awakening
                      ripples of recognition that will
                       brush darkness up into light
even after this bird this hour both drift by atop the perfect sad instant now
                         already passing out of sight
                      toward yet-untroubled reflection
                    this image bears its object darkening
                   into memorial shades Scattered bits of
                  light     No of water Or something across
                  water       Breaking up No Being regathered
                    soon        Yet by then a swan will have
                     gone         Yes out of mind into what
                       vast
                        pale
                          hush
                            of a
                             place
                              past
              sudden dark as
                   if a swan
                      sang 

 
como uma flor, balançada pelo vento, pétalas pelo ar. um toque gélido, o ar noturno e não mais. o inverno a se impor e quase a partir, o seu apogeu como os minutos que antecedem a aurora seguem perto, perto demais do seu sucessor. tão desolador quanto os últimos minutos da madrugada e rápido como o cair da tarde tingindo o céu em um arrebol. quando nada mais se esperava, pode-se de novo acreditar...