Rui Knopfli
Winds of Change
Nobody notices anything.
A sun as violent as madness is shining
and boisterous laughter bursts
on the violet whiteness of the pavement.
This is the garish Africa of postcards,
of linen suits, obsessive heat
and ice-cold beer.
Passers-by are passing by
and passing by again.
More boisterous laughter bursts,
each laugh radiating outwards from the other
in concentric circles.
Little servant boys stand jabbering
on shady street corners, adding a touch of local colour,
and in dark doorways
adolescents love each other, holding hands.
How truly calm and pleasant
is Polana
with streets like cool tunnels
carpeted in crimson velvet.
Everything is as it should be,
everything as rosy
as a technicolour film.
Passers-by are passing by
and passing by again.
Nobody notices anything.
Translated by Suzette Macedo
Page(s) 193-194
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