Lagoa

The stars asked
Asked for a mirror
For Our Lord

The Lord, surprised
Puzzled by the request
Called for Mary

The stars asked
Asked for a mirror
For the Virgin Mary

Mary, so good!
She cut a piece of sky from infinity
From a piece of sky
She made the lagoon

A hole remained in the sky's lining
Calling Mary, the Lord said to her
Patch up my sky, the idea was yours
Mary, smiling, tore her cloak
And in the infinite, she nailed the moon patch

Lagoon!
Clear water estate
Lying on the pebbles
A large mirror where the foolish stars
Come to adjust the sequin veil
During the long nocturnal procession

When in the morning sun you ignite
A feast of feathers adorns your sands
And silence is broken by a concert of chirps

The stillness of the waters
On the shallowest beaches
Ripples with joy at the flutter of wings
Making your slender reeds tremble
Trough where the field animals drink
On the beaches shaded by weeping willows

Clay trough
Of stone and sand
So full of water
So full of reeds
So full of flowers
Blue water hyacinths

Nocturnal lagoon, hall of the stars
Lagoon of light, vast sunlit meadow
Lagoon of willows and cork trees
Lagoon where lives
The kingfisher

Lagoon of otters and giant otters
Lagoon of fish and alligators
Who, brutish and rough, setting their scowls
Watch the herons, so sad, so white
Who brood in silence over the water hyacinths
Lagoon of the countryside, piece of sky!