"Blessed the Wicked Word"

This is why I love the internet. While browsing this morning I found this beautiful poem from a young Brazilian poet, Maria Resende. Here is the poem in Portuguese, and a free translation into English.

Bendita a Palavra Maldita

Bendita e a palavra
Que atravessa o meu deserto
E ultrapassa o meu silencio

Bendita cada letra escrita
Cada som soprado ou dito
- seja susurro, seja grito -

Bendito o fruto desse alfabeto
O eco novo que meus dedos trazem
Espelho torto de me revelar

Eu velo e pela forca dela
E sao pra ela todas as minhas rezas
Pro seu feitico e pra sua ferida

Bendita tambem a palavra maldita
Que bota fogo nesse apartamento
A portadora de toda a agonia

Toda palavra carrega um incendio
Cada palavra tem no fundo um mar
Bendita e a palavra que se deixa respirar

...and here is my free translation:

Blessed the Wicked Word

Blessed is the word
That crosses my desert
And goes beyond my silence

Blessed each written letter
Each sound murmured or said
- be it a whisper, be it a howl -

Blessed is the fruit of this alphabet
The new echo that my fingers bring
Crooked mirror that reveals me

I watch its strength
And my prayers are all for it
For its incantation and its wounds

Blessed also the wicked word
That burns this apartment
The carrier of all the agony

Every word conveys a fire
Every word has in its bottom a sea
Blessed is the word that allows me to breathe

Maria Resende