The Tour of Saint Anthony

[Red Stone]

Hi!

Once again I dare sharing with you a translation (done by myself) of a great poem, from a portuguese poet, Augusto Gil (1873/1929). The poem is about Saint Anthony a franciscan who was born in Lisbon (Portugal) on 15/8/1195 and died in Padova (Italy) on 13/6/1231. One of the reasons we call him Saint Anthony of Lisbon and the italians Saint Anthony of Padova. Canonized 11 months after his death, by the Pope Gregory IX, he is the patron saint of Lisbon, so the 13rd June is a local holiday in our capital city. He is known as being a match-maker saint.
I've chosen it for its deep tenderness.

This said, here goes:

The Tour of Saint Anthony

Saint Anthony left the convent
Going for his usual walk
And learning by heart in a praying and slow tone
A candid sermon about sin

Walking, always walking, he repeated
The pious and soft divine sermon,
And didn’t even notice that the afternoon was dying,
That the placid night was coming down…
And walking, and walking, saw himself on a hill
With trees and houses spread along,
That was far from the monastery
A long hard league.

Surprised for seeing himself so far away,
And weak for having walked so much,
The good monk sat down to rest a bit,
With the resignation of who is a saint…
The moonlight, a very clear moonlight appeared.
In a ray of that beautiful light,
The Boy Jesus came down from the sky
And started playing with the friar’s hood.

Nearby, a fountain of murmuring water
Added its murmur to the pinewood’s.
The nightingales could be heard at some distance,
The higher moonlight illuminated more.
Holding hands, were coming to the fountain
A couple of very happy lovers.
She carried on the shoulder the little water pot.
He carried… the heart on the chest.

Without suspecting that they could be seen
Exchanged kisses under the peaceful moonlight.
The boy heard it though and said:
- Friar Anthony, what was that?
The saint raising the sleeve of the habit
For hiding the groom and the bride,
Lied in a voice sweet like honey:
- I have no idea. I heard nothing!

A clean, sounding laugh
Vibrated with gold timbres on the path
- Did you hear, Friar Anthony, did you hear now?
- I heard, Milord, I heard. It’s a little bird!
- Your head is not in good shape…
A little bird singing like that!?
And the poor Saint Anthony of Lisbon
Stopped talking, embarrassed, but finally,

Blushing like the clothes of a cardinal,
Found this redeeming exit:
- If the Boy Jesus asks more questions,
I’ll complain to your mother, Our Lady!
Turning his face against the light,
And against that love without marriage,
Put him on the lap and added: - Jesus, it's late…
And so they returned to the convent.

[Gypsy]

That was quite interesting. Very descriptive of the times it was written in.

(Edit: oops, my fault, it's a new poet writing about medieval times. I know of one Russian bard/poet who does that, who even doesn't use electricity or computers when he writes, to fall into the mood of the older times).

Seems like the "The Boy Jesus" came from the monk's inner conflicts, from the gap between nature and his beliefs, and not "down from the sky"

Anyway, thanks for sharing, I heard there's a good body of Portuguese poetry, and have never read any until now.

[Red Stone]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

That was quite interesting. Very descriptive of the times it was written in.

(Edit: oops, my fault, it's a new poet writing about medieval times. I know of one Russian bard/poet who does that, who even doesn't use electricity or computers when he writes, to fall into the mood of the older times).

Seems like the "The Boy Jesus" came from the monk's inner conflicts, from the gap between nature and his beliefs, and not "down from the sky"

Anyway, thanks for sharing, I heard there's a good body of Portuguese poetry, and have never read any until now.

Hi Gipsy!

Thanks for your kind words. Anyway I must say that I am not a translator. Just happens that I know pretty well my native language, and a bit of english. Furthermore I'm not really proud of this translation. Just published it because we are a bunch of friends.

If you want to aprreciate another piece, this one from my preferred poet, José Régio (1901-1969) please go to Sharing...

Cheers!

[Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Red Stone

Hi Gipsy!

Thanks for your kind words. Anyway I must say that I am not a translator. Just happens that I know pretty well my native language, and a bit of english. Furthermore I'm not really proud of this translation. Just published it because we are a bunch of friends.

If you want to aprreciate another piece, this one from my preferred poet, José Régio (1901-1969) please go to Sharing...

Cheers!

That José Régio was cool too And you're doing good job translating them.
He did seem a lot crazier than this guy. You know I once tried to translate some new Russian poets/songwriters, but it's just SO hard!

By the way, I have a friend who once translated a few Brasilian poets for me: Augusto dos Anjos, Murilo Mendes. Have you heard of these guys? They write a weird, but in some cases quite interesting poetry...

[Sevana]

RS it is not easy to translate from one language to another without missing some of the original meanings , I say you did great job here , even I understood what was meant . keep up the good work my friend.
By the way Gypsy , do you really live in the Himalayas ? I have such happy memories of the Himalayas , I trecked all the way to the Everest base camp and almost died , when I was working in Nepal with a Canadian medical team . sorry RS for adding to your topic

[Red Stone]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

That José Régio was cool too And you're doing good job translating them.
He did seem a lot crazier than this guy. You know I once tried to translate some new Russian poets/songwriters, but it's just SO hard!

Yes they are pretty different. While Gil had a more or less easy life, Régio saw during his youth (he was 25 years old) his country being dominated by an infamous dictatorship that would last roughly 50 years. Besides that, as far as I know, Régio never had a happy life. As I said in the other thread, I strongly identify myself with that poem.

The problem with poetry translations is that - not being a poet - we are not able to transmit all the strength of the ideas inside the original words.

Originally Posted by Gypsy

By the way, I have a friend who once translated a few Brasilian poets for me: Augusto dos Anjos, Murilo Mendes. Have you heard of these guys? They write a weird, but in some cases quite interesting poetry...

Honestly, I don't know them. But I'll make a search and will let you know my opinion. My preferred brasilian poet is Vinicius de Morais, the blackest white skinned from Brasil.

Cheers!

[Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Red Stone

The problem with poetry translations is that - not being a poet - we are not able to transmit all the strength of the ideas inside the original words.

Yeah, even if you grasp the ideas and feelings, sometimes you just don't have enough vocabulary to translate it in its full beauty.

Originally Posted by Red Stone

Honestly, I don't know them. But I'll make a search and will let you know my opinion. My preferred brasilian poet is Vinicius de Morais, the blackest white skinned from Brasil.

Cheers!

I'll see if I can find anything in English. And "blackest white" is a new term I guess

[Red Stone]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

I'll see if I can find anything in English. And "blackest white" is a new term I guess

I've found some references. Now I need to explore them.

About the "blackest white" it is something that Vinicius used to say from himself. He was perfectly right because I've never found a white man so much in love for the afro-brasilian culture.

Cheers!

[Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Red Stone

I've found some references. Now I need to explore them.

About the "blackest white" it is something that Vinicius used to say from himself. He was perfectly right because I've never found a white man so much in love for the afro-brasilian culture.

Cheers!

I see. Orishas and stuff?

[lightontheshore]

sounds nice. i think i've heard about Saint Anthony.