Víamos que tudo tinha morrido

[s/i/c]

Survival: Infantry

And the world changed.

There had been trees and people,

Sidewalks and roads

There were fish in the sea.

Where did all the rocks come from?

And the smell of explosives

Iron standing in mud

We crawled everywhere on the ground without seeing the earth again

We were ashamed of our half life and our misery; we saw that

everything had died.

And the letters came. People who addressed us thru our lives

They left us gasping. And in tears

In the same mud in the terrible ground

George Oppen

Sobrevivente: Infantaria

E o mundo mudou.

Houvera árvores e gente,

Calçadas e vias

Havia peixe no mar.

De onde vinham todas as pedras?

E o cheiro de explosivos

Ferro firmando-se na lama

Rastejávamos por toda parte terreno afora sem ver a terra de novo

Envergonhamo-nos de nossa sobrevida e desgraça; víamos que

tudo tinha morrido.

E as cartas chegavam. Gente que nos chamava por nossas vidas

Nos legava suspiros. E às lágrimas

Na mesma lama sobre o terrível chão.

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