Pathetic Poem

(poema traduzido)

What is this noise on the stairs?

It's love that is dissolving,

it's the man that closed the door

and hanged himself on the curtain.

What is this noise on the stairs?

It's Guiomar who has covered his eyes

and blew his nose like a thunder.

It's the still moon over the plates

and the metals that shine in the pantry.

What is this noise on the stairs?

It's the tap dripping water,

it's the imperceptible lamentation

of one who lost in gambling

while the music orchestra

goes on lowering, lowering the pitch.

What is this noise on the stairs?

It's the virgin with a trombone,

the little child with a tambour,

the bishop with a hand bell

and someone damping the murmur

that leaps from my heart.

- Carlos Drummond de Andrade