“House of Eleven Windows” – Historic Center – 18th Century Architecture
Former residence of a sugar plantation owner
Belém – State of Pará – Brazil
Photo Credit: Brazil Ministry of Tourism
My Poetry Corner May 2016 features the poem “Eden Hades” by Brazilian poet Olga Savary. Born in May 1933 in Belém, capital of the State of Pará in North Brazil, she was the only child of a Russian father and a Brazilian mother. After her parents separated in 1942, she moved with her mother to Rio de Janeiro.
With the publication of twelve books of her poetry, more than fifty translations of renowned foreign poets, and anthologies of North and Northeast Brazilian poets, Savary has an impressive body of literary work.
“Eden Hades” is the final poem in Savary’s collection of the same name, published in 1994. Like the Biblical Garden of Eden, her Eden is a garden providing three essential ingredients for life: water, sunlight, and fruit.
Water gardens satisfy our thirst
sunshine swollen in veins
hanging like mango
Our human nature sets us up for failure. With our needs fulfilled, we feel deserving and in control of our destiny. Then, forgetful of the reason for our existence and the natural laws governing our lives, we unleash insecurity and chaos.
and I was like the owner of a ship
arrogant, deserving. Just like
an open vowel, I opened doors for the sand
in sudden loss of memory.
We breathe in life-giving air. It becomes a part of us. Its force sweeps across the land and ocean.
That the air should be swallowed like a ship.
All the sea breeze appears on the terraces
and vibrates in the sargassos above the swells.
At the mercy of the sea and the winds, we are no longer in control of our lives. Our hope for deliverance from the darkness lies in our destiny as individuals; of what once was, but now is lost.
Urban Slum – Belém – State of Pará – Brazil
Photo Credit: Exame Magazine
Caught in the trap
Transforms the darkness to morning.
These are the contours of the dream:
a silver plaque and a name inscribed,
today deleted, engraved long,
long ago. And only that…
The gods don’t need us, Savary tells us. They don’t want anything from us. To win our souls, they risk losing us by granting us free will. They laugh at our folly. When we make a mess of our lives and call on them for guidance, they ignore us.
The gods summon us,
they want us all because they want nothing,
they laugh at us, they lose us to win us
and to our questions
they play deaf,
they don’t respond except for the hollow
echo…
Savary’s final words of “Eden Hades” are ominous. Her declaration of the human condition is still relevant today in Brazil and around the world.
Everything loses meaning
evil is pronounced.
We can persist in exploiting Earth’s natural resources and human labor, stashing the loot in offshore tax havens, and transforming our planet into a veritable Hades. Or, we can change course. People must trump profit. Sharing Earth’s bounty must trump greed. Love must trump hate.
Learn more about Olga Savary and her work at my Poetry Corner May 2016.
Three Worlds One Vision 
This is a very interesting post about a poet I would never have known about. Her message is one that is very true and needed. On Fridays I run a column called Feminist Friday and invite bloggers to link their blogs to mine with stories about women they admire. Perhaps you might want to link this story next Friday.
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Thanks, Bernadette. As a female Brazilian poet in a conservative Christian society of her time, she broke many taboos during her career. She was the first Brazilian woman to publish a collection of erotic poetry. She was the first woman to enter a bar without a male companion. She was the first woman to date a younger man.
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I figure “the gods” give us free will so we can learn for ourselves what they already know. It seems some are learning faster than others, but institutional resistance appears at this point to be trumping good judgment and common sense.
I wonder if individuals are afraid of freedom, meaning saying “no” and refusing to submit to false authority. Animals have no such quandaries.
The “gods” are speaking to those who are listening. Just go outside and listen to the sounds of nature to know what’s truly important.
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Katharine, thanks for sharing your vision. I also share your view that the gods are indeed speaking to us. Only those who are attuned to Nature and the world around them can hear their message.
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Rosaliene, and it’s up to those who are listening to share it with the others. Their lack of vision and hearing brings us all down. I’m glad you are paying attention, too.
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Reblogged this on Guyanese Online.
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Thanks for the reblog, Cyril. Have a great week 🙂
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A GARDEN OF HAPPINESS
Life is a song – sing it.
Life is a game – play it.
Life is a challenge – meet it.
Life is a dream – realize it.
Life is a sacrifice – offer it.
Life is love – enjoy it.
Sai Baba
Close your eyes and imagine your life in as another Eden1
And you can call it yours and can build a fence around it
Below the surface there’s a system of roots in this garden
Responsibility for the garden’s growth will keep you fit
How do you cultivate this garden of happiness?
And what is its impact on the greater whole
Till the soil with compassion without any finesse
Sow your seeds with love and all your soul
Compassion should be you only tool
Your attitude and actions should be kind nothing new
Yes! do remember the Golden Rule,
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Love is what we all humans do need and deserve
Love is the power that creates, soothes and heals
Don’t get caught in the hidden agendas, just serve
We’re all in dire need of love to turn life’s wheels
From the need for love no one is born free
So love, give it freely the more we cultivate
Recognizing our interdependence you’ll see
The happier we become even with our mate
Make a commitment to treat everyone as an old friend
No matter whom you encounter
Even if the other person is challenging you to the end
No matter if its a foe or a brother
See them as an opportunity to be kind for seven days
Educate yourself with animals slaughtered cruelly
Don’t only practice man’s compassion in abysmal ways
See animals killed for food are treated humanely
All of life deserved to be free from suffering
Eat less meat and consider a plant-based diet
Love all living things with kindness and caring
Try taking the bug you find on the floor outside
Instead of squatting it, you may surprise
How different you would feel especially inside
You’ll feel good like just won a big prize
Do not be content with trifle feelings or needs
All is not well if you just sit on your housetop
In your garden you have to get rid of the weeds
So do not sit back waiting to reap your crop
Nurture your heart grow some flowers
To attract the insects to pollinate your tomatoes
Even when it rains respect the showers
Watch out for the squirrels and other’s burrows
Like mulching get rid of petty jealousies
And smell the roses and breathe in pure fresh air
You may lose from the pickings of birdies
But your life would be better for whom you care
Thanks
Naraine Datt
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Thanks for sharing, Naraine.
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Rosaliene – such a beautiful poem and commentary. Your last paragraph is so concise and to the point -beautiful touch with the trump part.
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Thanks, Bruce 🙂
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“The gods summon us,
they want us all because they want nothing,
they laugh at us, they lose us to win us
and to our questions
they play deaf,
they don’t respond except for the hollow
echo…”
An interesting vision of the gods, a bit like the Greek gods of antiquity in their willingness to to toy with us, though the Greek gods definitely wanted worship.
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Dr. Stein, I imagine that Savary’s vision of the gods are based on her own experiences and observations of life in Brazil and worldwide.
“they want us all because they want nothing”
~ This is a word for word translation of the Portuguese. The contradiction in this verse made it difficult to interpret. I may be wrong in my understanding that Savary’s gods don’t want worship.
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Enjoyed this, Rose. I also listened to some of the Savary clip you included on your PoetryCorner – even not knowing the language, I like the sound of Portuguese and listening to the poet’s voice.
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Thanks, Angela 🙂
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