Spoon River Anthology — Page 6

English → Pt Full Text Level 4/10

Robert Fulton Tanner

If a man could bite the giant hand

Se um homem pudesse morder a mão gigante

That catches and destroys him,

Que o captura e o destrói,

As I was bitten by a rat

Como fui mordido por um rato

While demonstrating my patent trap,

Enquanto demonstrava minha armadilha patenteada,

In my hardware store that day.

Na minha loja de ferragens naquele dia.

But a man can never avenge himself

Mas um homem jamais pode vingar-se

On the monstrous ogre Life.

Do monstruoso ogro Vida.

You enter the room—that's being born;

Você entra no quarto — isso é nascer;

And then you must live—work out your soul,

E então você deve viver — labutar com sua alma,

Aha! the bait that you crave is in view:

Ah! a isca que você anseia está à vista:

A woman with money you want to marry,

Uma mulher com dinheiro com quem você quer se casar,

Prestige, place, or power in the world.

Prestígio, posição ou poder no mundo.

But there's work to do and things to conquer—

Mas há trabalho a fazer e coisas a conquistar —

Oh, yes! the wires that screen the bait.

Oh, sim! os arames que cobrem a isca.

At last you get in—but you hear a step:

Por fim você entra — mas ouve um passo:

The ogre, Life, comes into the room,

O ogro, Vida, entra no quarto,

(He was waiting and heard the clang of the spring)

(Ele estava esperando e ouviu o estrondo da mola)

To watch you nibble the wondrous cheese,

Para vê-lo roer o queijo maravilhoso,

And stare with his burning eyes at you,

E fitá-lo com seus olhos ardentes,

And scowl and laugh, and mock and curse you,

E franzir o cenho e rir, e zombar e amaldiçoá-lo,

Running up and down in the trap,

Correndo de um lado para o outro na armadilha,

Until your misery bores him.

Até que sua miséria o entedia.

Cassius Hueffer

They have chiseled on my stone the words:

Cinzelaram na minha pedra as palavras:

"His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him

"Sua vida foi serena, e os elementos tão bem misturados nele

That nature might stand up and say to all the world,

Que a natureza poderia erguer-se e dizer ao mundo inteiro,

This was a man."

Este era um homem."

Those who knew me smile

Aqueles que me conheceram sorriem

As they read this empty rhetoric.

Ao lerem esta retórica vazia.

My epitaph should have been:

Meu epitáfio deveria ter sido:

"Life was not gentle to him,

"A vida não foi serena para ele,

And the elements so mixed in him

E os elementos tão misturados nele

That he made warfare on life

Que ele travou guerra contra a vida

In the which he was slain.

Na qual ele foi morto.

Vocabulary

Se: If; conditional conjunction introducing a hypothesis or condition.
um: One; indefinite article or numeral for singular masculine nouns.
homem: Man; adult male human being.
pudesse: Could; past subjunctive of poder, expressing possibility or permission.
morder: To bite; to use teeth to grip or cut something.
mão: Hand; body part with fingers used for grasping.
gigante: Giant; extremely large person or creature of great size.
Que: What; which; relative pronoun introducing clauses or questions.
captura: Captures; takes prisoner or seizes something forcefully.
destrói: Destroys; ruins or causes something to cease existing.
Como: How; in what manner or way; also means like.
fui: Was; past tense of ser, first person singular.
mordido: Bitten; past participle of morder, having been bitten.
por: By; for; preposition indicating agent, cause, or duration.
rato: Rat; small rodent mammal with sharp teeth.
Enquanto: While; during the time that; also means whereas.
demonstrava: Showed; past tense of demonstrar, displayed or proved something.
minha: My; possessive adjective for feminine singular nouns.
armadilha: Trap; device designed to catch or deceive someone.
patenteada: Patented; registered with official protection for invention.
loja: Shop; store where goods are bought and sold.
ferragens: Hardware; metal tools and supplies for construction or repair.
naquele: In that; in that time or place over there.
dia: Day; twenty-four hour period from midnight to midnight.
Mas: But; however; conjunction showing contrast or opposition.
jamais: Never; not ever; at no time whatsoever.
pode: Can; is able to; third person singular of poder.
vingar-se: Avenge oneself; take revenge against someone for harm.
Do: Of the; contraction of de and o preposition.
monstruoso: Monstrous; extremely large, evil, or horrifying in nature.
ogro: Ogre; frightening creature from myth or fairy tales.
Vida: Life; the state of living or existence itself.
Você: You; second person singular pronoun for respectful address.
entra: Enters; goes into; third person singular of entrar.
no: In the; contraction of em and o preposition.
quarto: Room; enclosed space in building for living or working.
isso: That; that thing; neuter demonstrative pronoun.
nascer: To be born; to come into existence as infant.
então: Then; at that time; also means so or therefore.
deve: Must; should; third person singular of dever obligation.
viver: To live; to exist and remain alive on earth.
labutar: To toil; to work hard and struggle with effort.
com: With; accompanied by; preposition indicating companionship or association.
sua: Your; his; her; possessive adjective for feminine singular.
alma: Soul; spiritual essence or immortal part of person.
isca: Bait; food used to attract fish or animals.
que: That; what; relative pronoun or conjunction.
anseia: Yearns; longs for earnestly with great desire.
está: Is; third person singular of estar location state.
vista: Sight; seen; past participle of ver or view.
Uma: A; one; indefinite article for feminine singular nouns.
mulher: Woman; adult female human being of mature age.
dinheiro: Money; medium of exchange; currency used for purchases.
quem: Who; which person; interrogative or relative pronoun.
quer: Wants; wishes for; third person singular of querer.
se: If; whether; reflexive pronoun used with verbs.
casar: To marry; to join in wedlock; to wed.
Prestígio: Prestige; respect and admiration earned by accomplishment.
posição: Position; place or location; social rank or status.
ou: Or; conjunction offering alternative choices or options.
poder: Power; ability to do something; strength or authority.
mundo: World; earth; all people and things collectively.
há: There is; there are; from verb haver existence.
trabalho: Work; labor; employment or job for income.
fazer: To do; to make; to perform an action.
coisas: Things; objects or matters of various kinds.
conquistar: To conquer; to win; to achieve through effort.
sim: Yes; affirmative response to a question or offer.
os: The; definite article for masculine plural nouns.
arames: Wires; thin metal strands used in various purposes.
cobrem: Cover; conceal; third person plural of cobrir.
Por: By; for; preposition indicating agent or cause.

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