[This is a possible translation for the poem Ser Criança (uma ontem-logia) . It is still subject to evaluation. The use of language, the neologisms as well as the eventual disrespects to grammar and orthography are present in the original.]
To make algae moves and to be given
jellyfish kisses
To defeat the day monsters and to hide from the
bogeyman
To eat mangoes nearly rotten so
savory-ripe[2] they are
To fly over the roofs and to run on their
copious-waters[3]
To dream of happy days and not to know them different from
now
Now?
Time for tag.
M. MATIAS.
On October 12th, 2011.
Translated and adapted to English language by Mateus Matias Pinheiro, on October 12th, 2011.
[1] Untranslatable play of words. The author creates “ontem-logia” (a study of the yesterday, a study of the past), exploiting its similarity with “ontologia” (ontology). It indicates that the poem intends to examine the nature of being a child (its ontology), but, at the same time, it is a study of the past (a “yester-logy”).
[2] Author’s creation. In the original, the first four verses starting with lowercase letters present compound words, joined by a hyphen. Some are naturally like that, for instance, “água-viva” (jellyfish) and “bicho-papão” (bogeyman). Others, however, are creations of the author: “cheiroso-maduras” (savory-ripe) and “copiosas-águas” (copious-waters).
[3] In Portuguese, “água” (water) can also be used to refer to the sides of a roof. In that sense, one can speak, for instance, about a “telhado de quatro águas”, meaning a four-sided roof, a hip roof.
First Impressions 