Herberto Hélder was born in Funchal, Madeira, in 1930. His poetry began during the tail of Portuguese Surrealism, after Mário Cesariny, and had as recurrent themes alchemy, mysticism and ancient mythology. He died in 2015.
He wrote the prose-poem above in his book, Os passos em volta, a book never translated into English. This translation was performed by me.
(CALIATH) 
Beautiful writing and translation!
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Ah, thank you Tirza. That’s awesome to read.
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Thank you, Joao-Maria, for translating and posting this. I don’t know whether it’s autobiographical or fiction, but the suffering expressed has a ring of authenticity. Take care, Cheryl
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It’s autobiographical. Herberto did spent some time in Belgium. And thank you for reading, Cheryl. Your kindness and attention mean a lot to me.
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So desolate yet filled with faith and perhaps hope?
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Thank you for the translation, I enjoyed his prose.
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That’s the magic of Herberto. He inspires the precise emotions that he seems to deny throughout the prose, which is a unique quality to have in writing.
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Thanks for making Hélder accessible to us non-Portuguese speakers, João-Maria. I “enjoy” reading him very much, and I find it remarkably fresh and original.
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Thank you! I absolutely love translative work. When I was an adolescent, my biggest dream was to be a translator or an interpreter. I find it beautiful — to transform one world of meaning into another… And terribly underappreciated and under-respected, I find.
Thank you so much for supporting me, Bruce. You’re marvelous.
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Wow. That’s powerful.
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Thanks, Bob. I’m happy it perfused you.
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A most interesting post. Congratulations on a skillful translation that allows this work to be seen by many more than if you hadn’t embarked on this.
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Thank you so much for this enduring support, d.a., means a lot.
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You are most welcome. Thank you for your very interesting and very well crafted posts that you share with us.
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Excellent again. Thank you for sharing JM.
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Thank you for reading, Gabriella. Always an exurgent presence.
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It’s a real pleasure to read you post JM.
Sending you a hug.
G.
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