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"A um carvalho" by Miguel Torga
This new entry in our series on Oak Poetry was proposed by Hugo Ribeiro, IOS member from Portugal. The poem, written by Miguel Torga in 1951, addresses an oak tree, probably Quercus robur, though "carvalho" could also refer to Q. faginea, Q. petraea, Q. canariensis, or Q. pyrenaica. It is included in the fifth volume of his Diário, a 16-volume diary written over 60 years.
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A um carvalhoEis o pai da montanha, o bíblico Moisés Forte como um destino, Barbas, rugas e veias Folhas verdes à volta do desejo |
To an oakBehold the father of the mountain, the biblical vegetal Strong as fate, Beards, wrinkles and veins Green leaves wrapped around ripening |
You can hear a reading of the poem here (credit: Estúdio Raposa).
Translation: Hugo Ribeiro and Roderick Cameron (with thanks to Dirk Giseburt for review and comments)
Miguel Torga, pseudonym of Adolfo Correia da Rocha (São Martinho de Anta, Sabrosa, Vila Real district, 12 August 1907 – Coimbra, 17 January 1995), is considered one of the greatest Portuguese writers of the 20th century. He wrote poetry, short stories, a genre in which he is accounted a master, theater, and a 16-volume diary, written from 1932 to 1993. Torga was several times nominated for the Nobel Prize of Literature, from 1959 to 1994. The pseudonym he chose to write under is a homage to Spanish authors Miguel de Cervantes and Miguel de Unamuno, and to the plant known as torga en Portugese (heather, Calluna vulgaris).
