Knife in the water Poem by Márcio- André

knife in the water
slicing the water

water house
the river and opposite
enormous cranes
assembling even bigger cranes

this provisional state of life
neither here nor there
right in the middle
and
in the middle
the meeting of languages

it's from the fluency of the accents
that individuality emerges among speakers

even the formula of the mouthwash
varies according to idiom

and
the feminine
[fearful water]
between two breasts fuller than peaches

in cruelty love rises
life is ridden by the frustration of each meeting

we are only strong when we are serious
[the poem doesn't inform life
but neither does life inform the poem]
and we are only serious when we feel solitude

Translation: Ana Hudson