Portuguese Flowers

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De pé na galeria, facing the wall, the woman perceives the Portuguese words under the sol, as it enters through her overcoat. Queria falar as duas línguas, juntas. In the partiality of both languages, English warms her legs. The remainder of the sentences incenses her paintings, traduzidas through one’s gaze. Gold is the painter’s choice for another country, inspired by the sun. She waits for the guests to arrive and pick the flowers on the canvas, very botanical and purple, growing from the ground. O sol in her overcoat is warming, o verde of the vegetation thankful.

Poem published in The Birds We Piled Loosely