Centre for Romanian Studies

Poetry in Translation, (CCLXXVIII) – BRASIL, Mario Raúl de Morais ANDRADE (1893-1945): “Rondeau for you”, “Rondou”

Mario de Andrade

To Couto de Barros (1924)

From you, Rose, I do not like
To accept only this slow hug
That you this moist kiss
That you give me…
I do not for a single reason:
From everything you tell me
I see that in your breast
Sobs the well-made heart
of you.
And then I imagine
That together with the slender body
The dark little body
That you give me
Together with your loveliness
The maddening charm and laughter
That you give me
It would be something if I too owned
What hides behind your face, Rose:
The thought, the soul, the grief
of you.

(Translated , by Yolanda Leite and JOHN NIST)

Mario de ANDRADE (1893-1945)
Rondou
(lui Cauto de Barros, 1924)

Dela tine, Rose, nu pot
Accepta îmbrăţişarea ta moale
Şi acest sărut umed
Care mi-l dai…
Aceasta pentru un singur motiv
Din tot ce-mi destăinui
Văd că în pieptul tău
Plânge adevărata ta
inimă
Ca să-mi închipui apoi
Că împreună cu corpul tău fragil
Acest trup misterios
Ce mi-l oferi
Odată cu splendoarea ta
Acel farmec şi râs care mă îmbată
Când îl primesc
Ar deveni ceva ce aşi împărtăşi cu tine
Ceva ascuns în spatele surâsului tău, Rose:
Gândul, sufletul şi tot amarul
tău.

Rendered in Romanin by Constantin ROMAN
© 2014 Copyright Constantin ROMAN, London

SHORT BIO: Mario Raúl de Morais ANDRADE (1893-1945) was possibly the most influential Brazilian poet of his generation. He wrote a great number of essays on literature, art, music, and Brazilian folk-lore. His book of poems Paulicéia Desvairada (Hallucinated City), published in 1922, marks a break with the Parnassian School, and he was one of the organizers of the Modern Art Week. His novel Macunaima was produced into a film by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade. It was further released in a dubbed version for American audiences in 1972 and in 2005, European and Latin American syndicates aired the film in its original Portuguese with French subtitles. The film was rereleased internationally in 2009.