"Clepsidra and Other Poems" by Camilo Pessanha – 5th Edition, 1973

"Clepsidra and Other Poems" tby Camilo Pessanha 5th Edition, 1973 Ática Publishing House Poetry Collection 426 Pages LUBRICA When I see her in the afternoon, along the alleyway, Dragging, like an ancient fairy, Along the sprouting myrtle branch, Her transparent skirt of white silk, And meditate upon the pleasure promised By her fresh, tiny mouth, And her bosom submerged in fine lace, Beneath the gentle curve of her bodice; A dense cloud passes through my mind, An infinite throng of desires: Sometimes I wish to drink her in, with deep kisses, In the intense flame of feverish lust... I desire, in a giant’s rapture, To clasp her tightly within my arms, Until, in those embraces, Her white, pulsating flesh is nearly crushed; As, in Asia’s tropical forests, The serpent’s Herculean muscles, gleaming golden, Tightly coil around colossal palm trunks. But then, when weariness’s weight Buries her in warm lethargy, She dozes, resting all day long, Her weary body beneath the palm tree’s shade. Thus would I, exhausted, wish—when, Wholly absorbed in the delirium of gluttony, I collapse, intoxicated, half-dead, Into the soft sleep of pleasure’s vapor; To glimpse, against a fading background, The uncertain sea of fever’s phantoms, Yet always beneath the blue of her gaze, Inhaling the coolness of her dress, Like drunken Chinese, delirious, Who, sleeping, breathe the quiet smoke That their favorite long pipe had just dispersed into the air... Yet if I recall that this sweetness, Born of the innocence in which she is wrapped, Escapes me like a dream or a drifting cloud At the touch of a single kiss upon her pure face; That it will vanish the very moment I attempt to rush forward and embrace her, An unsteady mirage, slipping away Upon the horizon of mad thought; Then I wish only to admire her calmly, In blissful apathy, eyes fixed, As I admire the hues of little birds, Fearing that noise might frighten them away; So as to preserve her immense grace, And watch others, bitten by desire, Long to drink her flesh in deep kisses, In the intense flame of feverish lust... Yet I cannot count: nothing exceeds The cloud of desires crushing me, When I see her, in the vague afternoon shadow, Walking alone along the alleyway... Camilo Pessanha, from "Clepsidra" --- Born in Coimbra in 1867, he departed for Macau in 1894, where he ultimately died in 1926, a victim of drugs and tuberculosis. He is regarded as the finest Portuguese Symbolist poet and directly influenced the Orpheu generation. OUT OF PRINT IN BOOKSTORES GOOD CONDITION – FREE SHIPPING