by Sonja N. Bohm
forgive me these lines!to me you are Portugal—how could I not sing?
SYNOPSIS
Conceived of in English and crafted to be read in Portuguese, this collection of bilingual poems written side-by-side in Portuguese and English is the fruit of a journey into learning and loving the Portuguese language. The Garden represents an Ideal—a thing not to be fully realized or attained in this life, but no less real or conceivable. The Garden is Portugal. —Sonja N. Bohm
With special appreciationto my teacherLURDES SARAMAGO CHAPPELL
ISBN: 978-1-7362835-4-7Language: Portuguese/EnglishCategory: PoetryFormat: PrintEdition: RevisedPages: 237
ISBN: 978-1-7362835-8-5Language: English/PortugueseCategory: PoetryFormat: eBookEdition: 1st
Cover image: View from the Garden Caffé overlooking Avenida do Jardim within the Jardins da Parede in Parede, Portugal.
REVIEWS
"...a poetic gift of emotion, insight, and connection—words representing a moment, yet these words speak to shared experience crossing the boundaries of time and distance. Highly recommended." —Grace Greene, USA Today bestselling author, author of The Memory of Butterflies and Beach Rental.
"Poemas do Jardim is lush with keen observation and rich with wisdom. Sonja uses a poet's touch with her language. She has a rare linguistic agility that is as precise as it is pristine. Though her ideas are weighty, she uses a delicate touch when expressing them. She hints and does not shout, and yet the fullness of beauty emerges in resplendent glory."—Sharon (Amazon review of the first edition)
"Whether you are Portuguese or just learning Portuguese, this book of poems will suit you. Each poem is written in Portuguese, and then English on the following page. The book is great quality, easy to read, and easy to get lost in. The words fly off the page and fly you mentally to a quiet garden in Portugal. It's a lovely book, with lovely poems, and best of all, I can share it with my English speaking wife who only sort of understands Portuguese!" —David Rodrigues, author of 100 Portuguese Moments In a Not So Portuguese World (2021). (Barnes & Noble review, ★★★★★)
"...full of space and light ... In short but intricate bursts of emotion, the poems capture the sense of movement through life and love, transformation through loss, as well as the experience of beauty. There is certainly a sense the poems are more sumptuous in Portuguese, but even if you cannot read Portuguese, Bohm transmits an almost sacred love of language to great effect." Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★
"...entrancing. Mesmerizing." (Goodreads)
"suas poesias são inspiradoras!" (Instagram)
"Los poemas dicen muchas cosas llegan a el alma" (Twitter)
ÍNDICE (em Português)
forgive me these lines (em inglês)
Per Aspera
Eu tenho que olhar para baixo
Solidão
Sentir os raios do sol na palma da minha mão
Águas Profundas
o caminho do desejo
Submissão
Paz
Espero por uma brisa suave
Jardim dos Segredos
Tordo-comum
Somos iguais
Assumirei a forma da minha iniquidade
De frente para o muro do jardim
Eu sei que o portão é estreito
Hoje Não
Não Posso
A promessa da Primavera paira no ar
Que espírito está aqui
Nunca vou possuir-te, ave canora
Escrito no rosto está a verdade
A Minha Musa
Eu estarei onde os trilhos se cruzam com as tílias
Não preciso de saber
Como uma Flor
A Minha Guerra
Meio adormecida, eu sonho
A Natureza não fala com palavras
Noturno (um contraponto)
Nos sonhos nado pelo ar
Um Lamento de Páscoa
A Natureza toca as suas canções doces
Poema Pragmático I (Sinceridade)
Vamos Ver
O Vendaval
Morning Thoughts (em inglês)
Tudo na Natureza se move no tempo perfeito
Habitar no amor é assim
I linger long about your door (em inglês)
As estações mudaram. Então, quem sabia?
Poema Pragmático II
Esperança, a Minha Alegria
Solidão II (A Minha Adoração)
Ondas (Vai e Vem)
Solidão III (O Choro de uma Pomba)
Apreensiva
Vento e Espírito
Se apenas este vazio
Virei as Costas
Toca o Tambor
Misericórdia
Tudo
Janelas
Mais ou Menos
Não é a espera
Sempre Bem
Não podes dizer ao vento onde soprar
Corpos de Água
A Luz do Dia
Sê Forte!
O Novo Orfeu
Poema Pragmático III
Masculinas são as mãos que labutam
Vento de Verão
O Meu Desejo
Portugal! Eu amo tudo sobre ti!
Versos Escritos em um Avião
Se a poesia é vida
Vi uma palavra de amor
Se me disseres que está árvore nunca vai dar fruto
Se tudo o que tenho para dar é nada
Uma Benção
Para que uma sombra exista
Ver mas não tocar
Fogo Fátuo
A minha razão, satisfação
Sabes?
O que posso cantar que não foi cantado?
Sempre haverá rosas
Talvez desapareça nas sombras
Uma Borboleta
Para entreter um pensamento tão estranho
Virtude
É melhor, não é?
Este povo, esta terra
As águas são indiferentes
Conheces os meus desejos
Imagino que as águas
Ó Madrugada!
Tranquila é a água
Traz a escuridão
Tocas a tua música em frente do mundo
Com amor eu olho, com saudade, eu choro
Agora Não
INDEX (in English)
forgive me these lines (Dedicatory poem)
Per Aspera
I have to look down
Solitude
To feel the sun’s rays in the palm of my hand
Deep Waters
the path of desire (haiku)
Submission
Peace
I wait for a soft breeze
Garden of Secrets
Song Thrush
We are equal
I’ll assume the shape of my iniquity
Facing the garden wall
I know that the gate is narrow
Not Today
I Can’t
The promise of Spring hangs in the air
What spirit is here
I’ll never possess you, songbird
Written on the face is truth
My Muse
I will be where the tracks meet the linden trees
I don’t need to know
Like a Flower
My War
Half asleep, I dream
Nature doesn’t speak with words
Nocturne (a counter-melody)
In dreams I swim through the air
An Easter Lament
Nature plays her sweet songs
Pragmatic Poem I (Sincerity)
We’ll See
The Windstorm
Morning Thoughts
Everything in Nature moves in perfect time
To dwell in love is like this
I linger long about your door
The seasons have changed. So, who knew?
Pragmatic Poem II
Hope, My Joy
Solitude II (My Adoration)
Waves (Come and Go)
Solitude III (The Cry of a Dove)
Cold Feet
Wind and Spirit
If only this emptiness
I Turned My Back
Beat the Drum
Mercy
Everything
Windows
More or Less
It’s not the waiting
Always Well
You can’t tell the wind where to blow
Bodies of Water
The Light of Day
Be Strong!
The New Orpheus
Pragmatic Poem III
Masculine are the hands that toil
Summer Wind
My Desire
Portugal! I love everything about you!
Lines Written on an Airplane
If poetry is life
I saw a word of love
If you tell me that this tree will never bear fruit
If all I have to give is nothing
A Blessing
For a shadow to exist
To see but not to touch
Ignis Fatuus
My reason, satisfaction
Do you know?
What can I sing that has not been sung?
There will always be roses
Maybe I’ll disappear into the shadows
A Butterfly
To entertain a thought so strange
Virtue
It’s better, isn’t it?
This people, this land
The waters are indifferent
You know my desires
I imagine that the waters
Oh Dawn!
Tranquil is the water
Bring the darkness
You play your music before the world
Lovingly I gaze, longingly I weep
Not Now