So far

Some things are better left unsaid
Words better off unspoken
Dreams you'd rather not have had
Hearts we wish could not be broken

But life holds on to nothing
Except this single rule of thumb
It's only by the things you did
You now can be what you become

Wish not that you had been quieter
Or even that you'd come undone
The pieces are held together
By the cracks of all that's gone

Standing on that bridge

Standing on that bridge watching the sunlight glow
The sunset seemed a thousand years ago
And as staying took the place of moving
As the bridge took the place of loving
The world became smaller and even more so
Because the lights that shine at dawn
Though beautiful and and soft and all
May cause you to stop and stall
And as life sails along the glimmering waters
It might be wise to keep moving forward
Over to the other side of that bridge
Where it all stays the same from a different twist
Standing on that bridge watching as life goes on

V

Vive velha vida
Vence vil vaidade
Vacila vontade va
Volta vital verdade
Violento vulcão, vapor
Voraz vergonha velada
Virá via voz, vigor
Verdade viva vedada
Varrida

Some flowers aren't meant to grow

Some flowers aren't meant to grow
In the many gardens I know
Their seeds were never sown

Some trees grow out of spite
On grounds that have grown dry
To prove they can go by

And grass with its shallow roots
Bound to nothing and aloof
Tends to scatter on the loose

The flowers meant to live
Hang on with tighter grip
Never to be apart

The smile of wonder

The smile of wonder cannot be kept
Away from life for much too long
In the laughter a lot can be said
And there's no hiding for this song

The unexpectedly joyous day
Preceeds a time when beauty is here
And all the freedom that disappeared
Is now the only possible way

All the surprises that have followed
Tell us little about tomorrow
Yet brag about the days before
Showing off what was ignored

The smile of an unwanted surprise
Cannot be hidden or even disguised
Because it's free of previous times
And lives on dreams, and soul, and light

Se fosse samba

É nesse, passo e descompasso
Que eu me faço e desfaço
Sem saber muito bem pra onde ir
E desse jeito que me ajeito
A dor que levo no meu peito
Hoje é também o que me faz sorrir
E em cada canto nesse encanto
O batuque e o retruque
De um samba de leva e traz
E só assim que eu sei
Que a batida do meu coração
É o vai e vem desses pés no chão
E abros os braços e o sorriso
Pra o amor e o perigo
De me apaixonar...

Palavras roubadas

Palavras roubadas que não dizem nada
Falam demais de coisas finais
Ouvem confissões de santos
Causam pouco ou nenhum espanto
Palavras tomadas de mim
E quando eu as quero
Quanto mais eu espero
Sou tomada por elas assim
Palavras que somem e não se eganam
Não serão minhas de vez, outra vez
São de quem as fizer como for
Quando saem de mim, falam por si
E já não as uso, são usadas
E já não são minhas, são levadas
Dizem por si o que eu não mais sei
O que me resta é tentar entender

Declared

Let me love you the way I can
With all my heart, body and soul
Filled with fears, it still stands
Alive with tears and deeper woes

Allow this love to be your light
And walk with you along the way
Soon as the pain passes you by
This love alone will be your gain

Be well aware - and I will too - of its demise
Grated it will help you suirvive
This loveless world while it stands, still

So forgive me if I choose to ignore - and I do
When you tell me you can love no more
For my love stands on its own will

Where there once was me

There's void where there once was presence
And in the place of plans, chance has taken over
Where there once lived a little girl, her reminiscence
And where there was disbelief, now grows wonder
And time after time, change after change
Nothing remains, but a deep rooted trust
That everything ends only to beging anew
And we all, in more ways than one, do too
So the tears that may have been fought
May soon enough be thoroughly sought
For no tear dries on its own, alas
Except for the smile it brings at last
Where there once was sorrow, now prevails hope
And in the place of hurt, you can only feel forgiveness
Where there used to be a broken heart
Now I stand free

Religare

Eu que te conheço há tanto tempo
Reapareço assim, tomada de assombro
Porque mesmo sem por quê, ainda tento
E sem te ver já sei que tudo teu e santo
 Então me entende quando digo - sem querer
Que muitas vezes - eu nem sei o que -
Mas quero te falar o tempo todo
E esse espaço que eu tenho é muito pouco
Porque eu não entendo muito bem essa historia
De que tanto sofrimento também e pra tua glória
Mas como, se essa gente que se vê nua
Também foi feita a imagem e semelhança tua
Ah! Eu sei da tua imensa sabedoria
E que eterna e infinita e tua soberania
Então vem e cuida desse povo destruído
Que já viveu mais do se pode ser vivido
Com muito menos ainda vai ter que insistir
E eu que sem querer ainda creio e espero
Imploro que venha por eles intervir
São muitos sonhos, vidas e anseios
E eu sei bem que teus são todos eles
E ainda que não entenda, és bondoso
Não podes mentir por natureza
E prometeste que estarias conosco

Ate o fim dos tempos.

O que me prende

Os pés fincados ao chão, dançam
Sem saber onde tocam suas raízes
Desenham a alegria de um coração em paz
Saltam até voar sem quem os guie

E nos caminhos traçados de velhos dias
As novas histórias se permitem construir
Nas mesma raízes que se embaralham
Seguem pra além de onde se pode ir

E os pés que se deixam levar sem medo
Deixam as marcas da raízes que tem
São levados e carregam também
Seguem seguidos, seguindo o desejo

E esses pés que vacilam firmados no chão
Se estendem e entendem nos que vem e vão
No mundo, na vida, no essencial, na verdade
Só se deixam prender por toda liberdade

Reminders

The cold breeze cutting through my lips
The sun scorching down on me
The bubbly waves that touch my heel
And the sounds played in the sea

The playful tears that took the place
Of what had once been a louder cry
The smile that burns inside my chest
The newer paths where I walk by

Reminders of what new stories of all that was untold
And days unlived, and laughs unlaughed
New pictures I now behold

The things I've chosen to remeber and those I neglected to forget
Live inside and have become
Reminders that I'm free

The tree of life

* Tree of life - by Tim Parish


The roots which ground a wandering heart
Grow deeper and further even when apart
Take place in the soul of a desiring man
And guide the way through life's secret plan

They cannot be traced to a single core
And there is no end to be seen in them
All tangled up; though many, the same
Changed their various sores

And just when they seem to have been figured out
There comes a newer, unfathomable sprout
The sum is then modified again

And the parts that may have fluttered before
Now intertwine and dance and take new form
Only to break from the very ground and fly

away

Love

In the war between the worlds I live in
Where I, too, fight battles of my own
I've come to realize that the only thing
That really matters in this life is love

Love for the friends you make and keep
For the ones who go and carry on
For those whom you may never see
And for the ones you had before

Love for the love you had or shared
And for the ones you dreamed ahead
For those which may have passed you by
And for that one which will never die

And love for all the years that passed
The little things that just won't last
The big things you never saught
The one thing you never thought

Love for the life the lies ahead
Each step we take, the road we make
Is just another day to rest
To live, enjoy, forgive and laugh

To love.

If

What would you wish for
If dreams could come true
With the blink of an eye
Anything you could do
Would it be about things
and changes and chance
Or would it be about living
And loving again?
Where would you choose
To spend the next day
Who would you have
Come join you and stay?
If there's an answer
And in your heart you know
Wait for nothing, or no one
Live it all, live it on...

Written soul

Where words can't be spoken, I write
When they can't be written, I cry
And when enough tears have been wept
When all is said, there's nothing left
That's when a new page is turned

And in all that blank which lies ahead
There's still so much yet to be had
There's all, there's none, and then there's that
The chance, the choice, the newest path
That's when you find you've learned

Withal, the steps I choose not to take
Become as vital, and perharps as great
As the longest journeys I'm yet to commence
Within each word, though written or enhanced
Amidst the reticence I intend

*quadro de Marcio Melo - A cortina de renda

Ainda

Eu ainda sonho acordada
Ainda espero pelo dia
Ainda choro com criançaa
Ainda rio com piadista
Ainda creio na verdade
Ainda odeio a mentira
Ainda brinco de bobagem
Ainda brigo pela vida
Ainda quero ser feliz
Ainda ando devagar
Ainda vivo por um triz
Ainda penso em me casar
Ainda espero ser melhor
Eu ainda sou eu mesma
Ainda que nao seja
Ainda amo, mesmo so.

Fulgaz

"O que foi, já não é mais"
Se ficou, já se desfaz
"Nada é pra sempre"
E ainda que intente
Não pode ir além
Dos anos que vão e vem
Por isso a entrega
de quem não se nega
Ser

Sem tempo que caiba
A vida que ensaia
Em seu passo veloz
Clama alto sua voz
Pelos dias que ainda
Se contam da vida
E a chance de um lar
Nessa vida que é mar
Viver

Emma Sorry

If I were to tell you the story
Of a blue-eyed girl called Emma Sorry
Would you be kind enough to stay
And carry on if I start to refrain
Would you be willing to hear me wisper
Or if I yelled, would you still listen?
Or would it be to much to bear
If Emma Sorry wore no hair
Or even any kind of perfume,
You wouldn't want her, I assume...
Oh, no! But Emma Sorry wears no rings
Or any ornaments you may think
What you hear, is what you get
Emma Sorry you would last.

Luciana Mano
Janeiro/2011

(Un)expected(ly)

I prayed for the sun so I could bathe in its light
Yet the pouring rain made me wait for the night
And when the stars didn't come, I noticed what had gone (by)
A whole day of looking at others and myself
A day of surrender and laughter and smells
And, yes, the sun wasn't here today
As I had wanted, hoped and prayed
(But what have I gained!)
The light of lingering smiles,
The glow of unworried faces
The brightness of friendship
And much smaller spaces
Between me and everlasting love.

Luciana Mano
Janeiro/2011

Gratidão

Dias lindos quando o sol era mais feliz
Nuvens densas das chuvas que não vi
Idas e vindas, sonhos e planos
Que, ainda que não vividos, nunca foram vãos
A vida só existe pra quem se permite viver
e rir, chorar, correr, lutar, ganhar, perder
E se peder. E se encontrar em outro lugar
longe de tudo que já não é mais.
E sendo vivo, pode ver que nada é mais
nem menos, tudo é vida. E é feliz.

Luciana Mano
Janeiro/2011