THE LAND OF NEVER Poem by Nuno Júdice

If I went to the land of never,
I would have everything I wanted in a bed of nothing:

the dreams that no one had when
the sun came up in the morning;

the girl who sang in a bed
of vivid flowers;

the water that tasted of wine in the mouth
of every drunk.

I would ride my bicycle without having to pedal,
down a street of clouds.

And when I had reached the sky, I'd step
on the stars that had fallen on the misty ground.

The land of never is where I would never
arrive if I went to the land of never.

That is why I scoop up the ground,
filling up bags with the earth of never.

One day, when someone asks me about the land of never,
I'll empty all the bags on their doorstep.

And the girl who sang will come out of the earth
with a bed of vivid flowers.

And the drunks will fill their glasses
with the water that tastes of wine.

In the land of never, with the sun rising
when the day is born.