rubens zárate

RUBENS ZÁRATE

(TEUS CACHOS BARROCOS AO SOL)

:: teus cachos barrocos ao sol, em contraste com
rosas em preto & branco :: teus cabelos em caracóis,
interditados nos espelhos :: teus cachos pré-rafaelitas,
mais louros que leques de plumas / negras ::

:: teus cabelos em volutas, dourados entre rubores,
batons de bonecas quebradas :: teus lindos cachinhos
dourados, de anjo de lingerie :: teus cabelos
serpentinos, domesticados em visons ::

:: teus cabelos de sol em sépia, a pelagem explícita,
exposta aos esmaltes :: de tua madre negresca :: (as
garras armadas, em posura de mano cornuta) :: tua
cabeleira em cachos, kitsch, desatada,

à espera da faca da sacerdotisa ::

(YOUR BAROQUE HAIR UNDER THE SUN)

your baroque hair under the sun, contrasting with
black & white roses :: your hair in curls,
forbidden by the mirrors :: your pre-raphaelist curls,
more golden than black / feather fans ::

your hair in swirls, golden amidst the rubor,
the broken lipstick of a doll :: your beautiful golden
little curls, of an angel in lingerie :: your serpentine
hair, domesticated in furs ::

your sun curls in sepia, the explicit skin,
exposed to the varnishes :: of your dark mother :: (the
ready claws, in mano cornuta shape) :: your
curled, kitsch, hair, untied,

waiting for the priestess’ knife ::

(ABRANDAR TEU COLO)

abrandar teu colo que defunto um dia a terra
comerá, em luas de navarro beijo :: hóstias as que
mordes como eva, a primeira que as raízes já tiveram
por desfrute :: que te comem como eva, pequena
debutante de aquelarre :: navarras como ósculos
de sábados de luna :: e depois, pequena, costurar as
chamas & as ramas enterradas como ervas & defuntos ::

(CALMING DOWN YOUR BOSOM)

calming down your bosom which one day the earth
shall eat dead, in navajo kiss moons :: wafers the ones
you bite as Eve, the first the roots relished
upon :: the ones eating you as Eve, little
aquelarre debutant :: navajo like the oscula
of saturday’s luna :: and after, my little one, sewing the
flames & the branches buried as herbs & corpses ::

—translated by rodrigo bravo
Rubens Zárate (Santo Andre, São Paulo) is a brazilian poet, translator, historian and anthropologist, who has published Pedra (1978), Barra (1978), Medium-Coeli, Campus-Stellae (1980). Zárate developed research projects on history, ethnology, cinema and literature, and also works as art producer.