AFTERWARDS

Yesterday I felt your weight beside me on the mattress.
Later I saw you on the stairs.

Today I woke:
the bed was empty, your pillow smooth.

I reached out - the bed was endless, my fingers
too short, my eyes not strong enough.

I closed them and breathed in.
I stood up and the room shrank.

I cried out - you didn't hear. I shouted,
screamed and beat the bed.

Am I too loud? Do I frighten you?
You've filled my head with blood and silence.

Are you downstairs among the books,
in the red chair, knee deep in unread newspapers?

///

DEPOIS

Ontem senti o teu peso ao meu lado no colchão.
Mais tarde vi-te nas escadas.

Hoje acordei:
a cama estava vazia, tua almofada macia.

Estendi a mão - a cama não tinha fim, meus
dedos demasiado pequenos, meus olhos fracos.

Fechei-os e respirei fundo.
Levantei-me e o quarto encolheu.

Chorei - não ouviste. Gritei,
berrei e bati na cama.

Alto demais? Assustei-te?
Enches-me a cabeça de sangue e silêncio.

Estás lá em baixo rodeado de livros,
na cadeira vermelha, com os jornais por ler até aos joelhos?


by Helen JAGGER, in "POETRY NEWS", the newsletter of the Poetry Society, Summer 2014

(Portuguese translated by Armando TABORDA, 2017)

(1st edition, 2014; 2nd edition, 2017)