Holy Poetry, Batman!

Holy Poetry, Batman!

Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy!

Agility is holy! Almost is holy! The alphabet is holy! The Alps are holy! The alter-ego and anagram and apparition and armadillo holy!

The armor plate is holy! the ashtray's holy! the asp is holy! astronomy is holy! Astringent plum-like fruit is holy!

The Audubon's as holy as the backfire! the ball and chain are holy as my bank balance is holy!

Bankruptcy is holy the banks are holy bargain basements are holy the barracuda is holy bat logic is holy!

Holy bat trap holy Benedict Arnold holy bijou holy bikini holy Bill Of Rights holy birthday cake holy Black Beard holy blackout holy blank cartridge holy blizzard!

Holy Bluebeard! Holy bouncing boiler plate!

Holy bowler! Holy bull's-eye! Holy bunions caffeine camouflage Captain Nemo Caruso catastrophe & cats!

Holy the chicken coop! Holy chilblains! Holy chocolate éclair!

Holy Cinderella! Holy Cinemascope! Holy cliche! Same bat time, same bat channel!

Holy cliffhangers Holy clockwork Holy Cofax you mean Holy coffin nails Holy cold creeps Holy complications Holy conflagration!

Holy contributing to the delinquency of minors holy corpuscles holy the cosmos holy the costume party holy crack up holy the crossfire!

Holy the crucial moment holy cryptology holy d'Artagnan holy the detonator holy the disappearing act holy the distortion holy the diversionary tactics holy Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde holy the egg shells!

Holy encore! epigrams! escape-hatch! explosion! Holy! Fate-worse-than-death! felony! finishing-touches! fireworks!

Holy the firing squad!

Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy!

The fishbowl is holy! The flight plan is holy! The flip-flop is holy! The flood gate is holy! The floor covering and flypaper and fly trap and fog holy!

The forecast is holy! the fork in the road's holy! the Fourth Amendment is holy! the Fourth of July is holy! Frankenstein is holy!

Fratricide’s as holy as the frogman! fruit salad is holy as frying towels are holy!

The funny bone is holy the gall is holy gambles are holy Gemini are holy geography is holy!

Holy ghost writer holy giveaways holy glow pot holy Golden Gate holy Graf Zeppelin holy grammar holy graveyards holy greed holy the Green Card holy the greeting cards!

Holy the guacamole! Holy Guadalcanal!

Holy the gullibility! Holy the gunpowder! Holy haberdashery hailstorm hairdo hallelujah Halloween hallucination & hamburger!

Holy Hamlet! Holy the hamstrings! Holy the happenstance!

Holy the hardest metal in the world! Holy the harem! Holy Harshin! Same bat time, same bat channel!

Holy haziness Holy headache Holy headline Holy heart failure Holy heartbreak Holy Heidelberg Holy helmets!

Holy helplessness holy here we go again holy hi-fi holy the hieroglyphic holy the high-wire holy the hijackers!

Holy the history holy the hoaxes holy the hole in a donut holy Hollywood holy the Holocaust holy the homecoming holy the homework holy the homicide holy hoodwink!

Holy hoof beats! hors d'oeuvre! horseshoes! hostage! Holy! Hot foot! Houdini! human collector's item! human pearls!

Holy the human pressure cookers!

Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy!

The human surfboards are holy! The hunting horn is holy! The hurricane is holy! The hutzpa is holy! Hydraulics and hypnotism and hypodermics and ice picks holy!

Ice skates are holy! icebergs are holy! impossibility is holy! impregnability is holy! Incantation is holy!

The Inquisition's as holy as the Interplanetary Yardstick! the interruptions are holy as iodine is holy!

IT and T is holy the jack-in-the-box is holy the jackpot is holy the jail break is holy the jaw breaker is holy!

Holy jelly molds holy jet set holy jigsaw puzzles holy jitter bugs holy Journey to the Center of the Earth holy jumble holy karats holy key hole holy the key ring holy the kilowatts!

Holy kindergarten! Holy knit one pearl two!

Holy the knock-out drops! Holy the known unknown flying objects! Holy Kovax Las Vegas leopard levitation liftoff living-end & lodestone!

Holy Long John Silver! Holy the looking glass! Holy the love birds!

Holy Luther Burbank! Holy the madness! Holy the magic lantern! Same bat time, same bat channel!

Holy Magician Holy Main Springs Holy marathon Holy mashed potatoes Holy masquerade Holy matador Holy mechanical armies!

Holy memory bank holy Merlin holy the Mermaid holy the merry-go-round holy mesmerism holy the metronome!

Holy the miracles holy the miscast holy the missing relatives holy the molars holy Mole Hill holy the mucilage holy the multitudes holy the murder holy the mush!

Holy the naive! New Year's Eve! nick of time! nightmare! Holy! Non sequiturs! oleo! olfactory! one track bat computer mind!

Holy the oversight!

Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy!

Oxygen is holy! Paderewski is holy! Paraffin is holy! The perfect pitch is holy! The pianola and pin cushions and polar front and polar ice sheet holy!

Polaris is holy! popcorn's holy! potluck is holy! the pressure cooker is holy! The priceless collection of Etruscan snoods is holy!

The pseudonym's as holy as the purple cannibals! the puzzlers are holy as the rainbow is holy!

The rats in a trap are holy the ravioli is holy the razor's edge is holy the recompense is holy the red herring is holy!

Holy red snapper holy reincarnation holy relief holy remote control robot holy Reshevsky holy return from oblivion holy reverse polarity holy rheostat holy the ricochet holy Rip Van Winkle!

Holy rising hemlines! Holy the roadblocks!

Holy Robert Louis Stevenson! Holy the rock garden! Holy the rocking chair Romeo and Juliet rudder safari sarcophagus & sardine!

Holy the scalding! Holy schizophrenia! Holy the sedatives!

Holy self-service! Holy semantics! Holy serpentine! Same bat time, same bat channel!

Holy sewer pipe Holy shamrocks Holy Sherlock Holmes Holy show-ups Holy showcase Holy shrinkage Holy shucks!

Holy skull tap holy sky rocket holy the slipped disc holy the smoke holy the smokestack holy the snowball!

Holy the sonic booms holy the special delivery holy the spider webs holy the split seconds holy the squirrel cage holy the stalactites holy the stampede holy the standstills holy the steam valve!

Holy stew pot! stomach aches! stratosphere! stuffing! Holy! Subliminal! sudden incapacitation! sundials! surprise party!

Holy the switch-a-roo!

Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy!

The Taj Mahal is holy! The Tartars are holy! Taxation is holy! Taxidermy is holy! The tee shot and ten toes and terminology and time bomb holy!

Tintinnabulation is holy! tip-offs are holy! the Titanic is holy! the tome is holy! The toreador is holy!

The trampoline's as holy as the transistors! the travel agent is holy as trickery is holy!

The triple feature is holy the trolls and goblins are holy the tuxedo is holy the uncanny photographic mental processes are holy the understatements are holy!

Holy underwritten metropolis holy unlikelihood holy unrefillable prescriptions holy vat holy Venezuela holy vertebrae holy voltage holy waste of energy holy Wayne Manor holy weaponry!

Holy wedding cake! Holy Wernher von Braun!

Holy the whiskers! Holy the wigs! Holy Zorro!

Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy!

Holy the Caped Crusader and his faithful sidekick Robin...


Copyright © 2015 Marco Alexandre de Oliveira  

The Misadventures of Clark Kent

The Misadventures of Clark Kent

Gentler than a lamb!
More stubborn than a mule!
Unable to harm even a fly!

“Look!
Down on the ground!”

“It's not a rat!”
“It's not a dog!”
“It's Clark Kent!”

Clark Kent, a normal guy from a small town who came to the metropolis with hopes and ambitions just like anyone else.

Clark Kent, opponent of crime and corruption, advocate of civil rights, idealistic, romantic believer in the forces of love and kindness, who revealed to be Superman, comic hero of the corporate media, sold the ever-elusive dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

 
Copyright © 2015 Marco Alexandre de Oliveira  

"Shots in the Dark" (Rodrigo Garcia Lopes)

Brazilian Literature in Translation / Literatura Brasileña en Traducción

Issue / Numero

year/año: 02
issue/numero: # 06

The Troubadour

Author | Autor: Rodrigo Garcia Lopes

Translated by Marco Alexandre Olivera

Shots in the dark

After finishing breakfast with bacon, country eggs and cake, served by

Gloria, the cook, a corpulent black woman with a generous smile, the

men went into the meeting room. Garden stood up, greeted Lovat and

took a seat next to the table. Blake sat in a corner and started to leaf

through an edition of the local newspaper, the Paraná-Norte. The four-page tabloid

was the enterprise’s main piece of propaganda. Underneath the title PARANÁ

PLANTATIONS — NORTH PARANÁ LAND COMPANY came the words AGENTS

EVERYWHERE.

The cook entered and left a jar of water and three glasses on a tray. She exchanged

a few words with Lovat, who treated her courteously, asking about her

children, her husband, and her health. Then Gloria excused herself and closed the

door. Garden held his safari hat over his lap and examined a few documents. He

was restless.

“So, what happened?” Lovat asked, without beating around the bush.

“We’re still trying to understand. It was a huge blow for us. Nussbaum and

the Müllers were people of the highest order, excellent employees,” Garden said,

shifting in his chair.” According to the sheriff’s report, on August 1 Müller caught

Nussbaum and Magdalene in his bed. The neighbors heard gunshots and screaming

coming from the house that night.”

“Where did they live?”

“In a small house on Heimtal St.”

“I believe I don’t remember the Müllers.”

“They were good doctors. They spoke several languages, which made the

house calls easier. You know, besides malaria, we’ve been having lots of accidents

in the forest, during the clearcutting. The doctor along with his partner and assistant,

Dr. Magdalene, were recommended by Eckstein.”

“Yes, I remember that.”

“They were doing a good job, since we don’t have enough doctors in the city.

It was a tragedy what happened.” Garden took a sip of water and then wiped the

sweat that ran in streams down his face. “Today I feel sorry for not having taken

seriously the rumors that Nussbaum was having an affair with Dr. Magdalene, and

right under his nose. A week before, at a party, employees witnessed the doctor

threaten to kill him if he didn’t stay away from his wife. ‘And if I kill you, nobody’ll

find you,’ he said. Something more serious only didn’t happen right there and then

because Müller was held back,” Garden continued, breathing the air out of his

lungs. “We should’ve transferred Nussbaum to São Paulo for a while.”

“When did you last see Nussbaum?” the lord asked.

“On the night of the incident, right before going home. I had just returned

from city hall around nine o’clock and I decided to get some papers at the company.

I saw lights on and noticed that he was still working. It was common for him to

stay until late at the office. You knew him, you know that when he had some deadline

to meet, his spirit would become attached to work and aloof from the world.

Nussbaum was very dedicated.”

“Yes, very dedicated”, Lovat said. “Did you speak to him before leaving?”

“Quickly. He only asked me to lock the front door, since he had a copy of the

key. I went back, locked it from the outside and went home.”

Blake raised his eyes to the mayor. Garden sat rigid in his chair, arms by his side.

“When did you notice the chief accountant was missing?”, Blake wanted to

know, intruding on the conversation.”

Garden glanced at Blake and then looked at the lord again.

“Well, first we missed the doctors, who usually came to work together. On

the morning following the incident, around eight o’clock, patients came to complain

that the Müllers hadn’t shown up at the hospital. A little later we found out

that Nussbaum also hadn’t come to work. We thought it was strange, since it was

extremely rare for him to miss work, it wasn’t like him. He always asked someone

to tell us when he couldn’t show up. I asked some men to go to his house, but he

wasn’t there. I immediately went after the sheriff, who was already coming back

from the Müllers’ house.”

“The sheriff was the first to arrive at the scene?,” Lovat asked.

“Yes. Early in the morning he had gone looking for one of the neighbors. Besides

hearing the screams and the shots, two neighbors saw the couple inside the

car, leaving the residence.”

“What time was that?”

“Around eleven-thirty at night.”

Garden took a sip of water. Lovat signaled for the company director and city

mayor to continue.

“There was nobody at the house. The door had no sign of being forced open.

The accountant’s automobile was there, but not Müller’s. There was a lot of blood

and bullet holes at the scene. I could see it for myself. He’ll be able to tell you all

of the details.

Lovat stroked his moustache and then asked:

“Do you have any theory about what happened?”

Garden blinked his eyes a little and continued:

“To speak frankly, sir, crimes of passion are common around here. Let’s say

that there is an imbalance between the sexes. There aren’t enough women in the

city. Müller had reasons to be jealous of his wife. Beatings were constant. For me,

he committed the crime to save his honor. He returned from the house call to a

farm earlier than expected, so he caught his wife with Nussbaum. He killed him and

ran away with his wife.”

Lovat stared at Garden for a moment, without saying anything. Garden flexed

his mouth muscles in an attempt to smile.

“I know you’re worried, but I must say that we have already replaced the three

employees. I assure you that this incident has not affected business operations at

all. Our lot sales have not been compromised and...”

The lord slammed his fist on the table. Blake was startled.

“Are you telling me that a crime happens at the company, involving important

employees, and everything is alright?,” Lovat yelled. “Why didn’t anyone tell me

about this?”

Garden dried the sweat on his face with a handkerchief. His jaw constricted.

“It wasn’t our mistake, but that of the branch in São Paulo. They were the ones

who were responsible for breaking the news to the office in London. It’s strange

that Mr. Eckstein didn’t let you know.”

Lovat shook his head, making an impatient face. He looked out the window

and saw the street, the rivers of mud stubbornly refusing to dry. He turned to

Garden and said:

“Nilson, you’re in charge here. How did you let things get to this point? We’ve

got to set the example. This is terrible for business!”

He then stood up, crossed his hands behind his back and started walking

around the room, causing the floorboards to creak. Garden bit his lips under his

little moustache while he followed Lovat’s silent pacing. The lord sat down again,

took a sip of water and asked, with his voice a little calmer:

“What else do you know about Nussbaum’s last steps?”

“What I know is that on that night he stopped by the Eldorado bar. He was

drunk, it seems... He was distressed, and muttered incoherent things. They reported

that he stayed only a little while, said good-bye and mentioned that he was

going to solve a problem.”

“A problem,” Lovat murmured. “Did he say what it was?”

“No, he only said he wasn’t feeling well. He said he needed medical care, and

left. I suggest you talk to Günther and Razgulaeff. They were at the bar and were

some of the last people to see him.”

Lovat agreed and made a vague gesture. Blake finished jotting down the

names in his notebook and raised his head to Lovat.

“What was the Müllers’ routine like?,” the lord asked.

“They didn’t go out much.”

“And?”

“I believe the doctor didn’t like to show off his wife outside the workplace,

except for, every once and a while, at company dances. They were quite reserved.

So much so that they didn’t even have servants.”

“Nothing relevant was found, not even a clue?”

“If so, the sheriff’s got it. He’s the one who did the investigation at the scene.

The Müllers’ house has been abandoned since then, until his family in Germany

decides what to do with the property. Now in his office I assure you nothing was

touched,” Garden said.

“And where is Nussbaum’s house located?” Lovat asked, turning his eyes

again to Garden.

“He lived alone, on Higienópolis, a new avenue that Razgulaeff planned, but

since the incident a family has been living there. We’ve been facing a serious housing

problem for newly arrived buyers. The property belonged to the company.

Nussbaum intended to move soon to the house he was building.”

“What happened to the accountant’s belongings, his personal objects?”

Garden gulped, and tightened his lips. After a few seconds, he said:

“After the incident, his bags, his clothes and the rest of his personal objects

were donated, his little furniture was auctioned and what was left, burned.”

Lovat and Blake looked at each other. The lord snorted and scratched his face.

“And may I know who had such an awful idea?”

“A negligent employee, sir.”

“Where is he?”

Garden took his eyes off Lovat for a few seconds, then stared at him again.

“Mr. Francisco died last month, while he was helping our men cut down a forest

to clear new lots. Yeah, we’ve been seeing many accidents like this.”

Lovat breathed out through his nose. He shook his head for a moment, his

face stern. He glanced sidelong at the newspaper in the chair next to the translator

and turned to the mayor:

“What’s the circulation of the Paraná-Norte?”

“Two thousand copies.”

“Increase it to four thousand. Put an ad in the front, offering a generous reward

to whoever provides any clues that can take us to their whereabouts. Make

posters and spread them in all the train cars from Rolândia to Ourinhos. Surely

there are photographs of them on their contract forms.”

[...]

http://www.machadodeassismagazine.bn.br/new/titulo.php?id_titulos=121&edicao=Edi%C3%A7%C3%A3o%2006

terra em trânsito

trânsito intransitável,
anda parado,
para andando.

daqui em diante,
somente adianta
andar a pé...


Copyright © 2015 Marco Alexandre de Oliveira

walking contradiction

he was a young man of the old school,

he was a wise guy who wouldn’t play the fool;

he was well-versed but had bad diction...

he was a walking contradiction.

he was an A-student athlete,

he was always upset but never downbeat;

he was contrary to confliction...

he was a walking contradiction.

he was easy going but had a hard time,

he was well off but didn’t own a dime;

he was smooth despite the friction...

he was a walking contradiction.

he was straight-faced with a crooked smile,

he was worn-out but in style;

he was healed by his addiction...

he was a walking contradiction.

he was open minded but had an empty heart,

he was an apprentice in life and a master of art;

he was transgressive by prescription...

he was a walking contradiction.

he was intellectually advanced but emotionally immature,

he was certain he was not sure;

he was unconvincing in his conviction...

he was a walking contradiction.

he was on the road and homeward bound,

he was absolutely lost but relatively found;

he was characterized beyond description...

he was a walking contradiction.

he was a young man of the old school,

he was a wise guy who wouldn’t play the fool;

he was, in fact, a fiction...

he was a walking contradiction.

Copyright © 2015 Marco Alexandre de Oliveira

mantra do BEM

Copyright © 2015 Marco Alexandre de Oliveira

parts of me

everywhere I go,
there's a part of me
that I come to find...

everywhere I go,
there's a part of me
that I leave behind...

every time I stay,
there's a part of me
that's already at home...

every time I stay,
there's a part of me
that's ready to roam...

anytime I stay,
there's a part of me
that'll always say:

anywhere I go,
there's a part of me
that I'll never know...


Copyright © 2015 Marco Alexandre de Oliveira

DOE SANGUE!

Copyright © 2015 Marco Alexandre de Oliveira

Novo Ano, Nova Antologia: NOVOS TALENTOS DA LITERATURA BRASILEIRA!