issue 33 > poetry > maranhão
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Beyond Limits 9
by Salgado Maranhão. Translated by Alexis Levitin.
“And the poem is made against flesh and time”
Herberto Helder
Beyond Limits 9
(epiphany)
your presence
of limpid crystal
prays
transparency
before the heart.
silent reserve
of feeling
winged line
of life
on the horizon
of the hand.
thighs
of greek columns;
breasts
that blossom
grapes
petals and bourbon;
pearl
lost in my
delirium:
it isn’t stone
it’s lily;
it isn’t light
it’s porcelain,
velvet magnet
animism’s melody
of sex and
centuries
driving my fire wild
driving me inside out.
Author's note: "Beyond Limits 9" is drawn from a ten poem sequence called "Beyond Limits."