Poem - Unwanted

UNWANTED

(Translated from Portuguese with inevitable losses)

I want to be a pigeon

a vulture

a crow

a wasp

I want to drink the filthy water spilling from the gutter

streaming down the flood

I want to eat the plastic from the lettuce wrap

I want to choke on the plum pit left behind

just for me

I want to gnaw the bone the butcher sells

now that there’s people to buy

I want to taste the carrion

the rotting remains

straight from the trash bag spilled out of the bin

I want disgust

I want to drown in leachate

for lack of fruits and flowers

I want to be the unwanted

the abominated

the Unseen

and become guilty

of my own survivalist nature

and where is nature left here?

what even is nature now?

a feather?

or just a sigh?

I want them not to look at me

to glance away

to watch me from the corner of their eye

just to see if they can pass

safely

by me

I want to be pigeon

vulture

crow

wasp

and survive

on streets I did not build

in rivers that don’t reach the sea

in lakes that reflect only the streetlights’ glare

and the footsteps

of those rushing

to catch the six o’clock bus

packed

with people alike and different,

indifferent

with a similar story: desire

I want to be pigeon, vulture, crow, and wasp

and survive

unwantedly

in an environment

that brands me

solely responsible for my success

amid chaos

orchestrated by those who want to control me

and the trash, pigeon, vulture, crow, and wasp

inconvenient, pigeon, vulture, crow, and wasp

I want to be

a pigeon

a vulture

a crow

or a wasp

and have wings

to fly

free

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This poem was born in Portuguese and some words carry double meanings that resist translation so some of the meanings and imagery will be lost in translation.

The English version is a shadow — the essence lives in the original, hehe.

Some words (and meanings or nuances) that were lost in translation

• Pomba: In Portuguese, it can mean dove or pigeon, so English forces a choice, erasing the duality and nuances. I preffered pigeon to make sure its not pure, but in portuguese it could coexist and the contrast would be deeper.

• Pena": In portuguese this word can mean various things, like a pun on "feather" and "sorrow" or sometimes even "shame/pity".

  The original line uma pena?" becomes "a feather? / or just a sigh?" - so again, one simple word that had to be reflected in two lines and still doesnt reflect it completely well.

Also, some cultural references like 6pm bus, will not have the impact in english, but it doesn't matter, in the end, we can't reach it.

Observation: Translating this poem into English, a dominant lingua franca, ironically reflects the themes of control and even resistance of the poem itself.

The "need" of translating it into a "global" language clashes perfectly and contrasts with the critique of systems that dictate who is seen, heard, or (re)deemed "unwanted."

But hey! The original Portuguese poem, just like the lyrical-self, refuses to be fully tamed and resists, beyong language. Make sure to check in pt too (its way better, as always).

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