"OS LUGARES DO AMOR" & "OS LUGARES DO AMOR-II"

In 1999 and 2001 I published two books with the above titles to celebrate the marriage of my daughters. Both have the same format, with a series of 10 short love stories, followed by some of my poems.
The titles may be translated in English as "Places of Love" and the stories are about dense and intense love situations in different locations. The stories are nonfactual, although they correspond to the realities of each place, but the locations are cities which I had indeed alreaby been on at the time.
Here are the 19 locations (10+10 makes 20, but - at one of the daughters request - one story in the first book was repeated in the second one: Johannesbourg, Helsinki, Mozambique Island, Chichén Itzá, Lofoten, Split, Malacca, Ischia, Nikko, Agra, Bora-Bora, Crete, Corfu, Big Sur, Pokkara, Berlin, Mont-Saint-Michel, Abu Simbel and Jerusalem.
I will be happy to forward any of those stories (in Portuguese only!) if requested by e-mail to my adress
jsm65@sapo.pt

A POEM IN THE SKY

In January 2007 I visited Mauritius for a week, including the island of Rodrigues ( another Portuguese name, the sailor who found it, caught by geography... ). The two islands are separated by more than 500 kilometers, so you have to take the plane, unless you dispose of plenty of time in the archipelago and take a ship, or try to swim.
The outbound flight took off in the morning, with plenty of sunshine and a clear atmosphere.
That was enough for me to write a poem during the flight, which is not at all uncommun for me.
The idea of the loneniness of the plane and those inside, in the middle of the empty skies and above the liquid calm of the sea, put my mind in motion - and this was the outcome:


A ETERNIDADE

No oceano vasto até ao horizonte
uma vaga vaga vagamente
na cálida serenidade da manhã.
Hoje é a véspera do tempo todo,
o ontem por ninguém descoberto,
a odisseia dos dias que não contam.
As nuvens vêm da origem das coisas,
ou talvez mesmo de mais longe,
como esta certeza que há em mim.
Numa diáfana hora como esta aqui
a eternidade terá nascido.


aviao Maurícia-Rodrigues, 18 de Janeiro de 2007

Joao Silva Maia


The plane landed safety at destination, for me to enjoy the quietness of Rodrigues during two days. Probably eternity was born somewhere around.
Of course the poem is in Portuguese; if some one is keen and knowledgable to translate it into English, or other language, please do and contact me by e-mail. It will be added to this blog.

Update on July, 22, 2009: This poem has just been published in "DAR VOZ Á POESIA - IV COLECTÂNEA", 2009, by Câmara Muncipal de Ovar, page 136.