Helder Oliveira

Helder Oliveira Poems

Helder Oliveira Biography

Helder Oliveira (Helder de Jesus Ferreira de Oliveira) , is an Angolan citizen. He was born in 1951 in the South Angolan province of Huila, whose capital city is Lubango. He wrote his first poem (an acrostic poem) in Lubango, the capital of the Angolan province of Huila, in June of 1968, when he was 17. At the time he was a student. The title of his first poem is “A Star For You”. It was written in Portuguese and the title in Portuguese is “Uma Estrela Para Ti”. Although he has never published a poetry book, he has written several poems, in Portuguese and in English. In fact, one of his passions in life is to write and read poetry. As he says, when he reads or recites such beautiful poems like, for example, the poems “IF”, by Rudyard Kipling; “Maternity”, by Alice Meynell; “The Raven”, by Edgar Allan Poe; “My Heart is Heavy”, by Sarah Teasdale; “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, by Maya Angelou; “All the World’s a Stage”, by William Shakespeare; “A Prayer in Spring”, by Robert Frost; “A Clear Midnight”, by Walt Whitman or “A Bird Came Down”, by Emily Dickinson…; Or when he reads any poem that is beautiful, a poem that touches his senses, he feels beauty engulfing his soul and at those moments he sees life farther beyond the insignificant pettiness of this world, and he feels then that life is worth living. “There’s no doubt that poetry is one of the most beautiful things in this world”, he says. In addition to writing and reading poetry, he also likes reading and writing short detective stories. He also likes to listen to the radio (especially short wave) , to listen to music (especially jazz) , and to play (especially table tennis) . As for the new technologies, he likes the “Internet”, which he considers as being the wonder of the 21st century. One of his favourite proverbs is “You reap what you sow” and one of his favourite advice-phrases is “Live each day as if it were the last of your life”.)

The Best Poem Of Helder Oliveira

Tell Them

Tell them
That you collect small striking details
And that your sole proudly entails
All the songs that birds can sing

Tell them
That when you touch a flower or watch the sea
You see things that others can not see
You feel beauty where others feel a sting

Tell them
That you are constantly seeking around
Searching the skies, digging the ground
Trying to find evil things to suppress

Tell them
That you are among the crowds
Urging them to wrap in shrouds
Their fears causing distress

Tell them
Tell them that you are a poet or a poetess!




(Helder de Jesus Ferreira de Oliveira)


Angola, Xangongo City, Kunene Province
21 September,2009

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