Back in the summer, a reader of In Love With Lisbon contacted me for some tips before visiting Lisbon. I was delighted to receive an email back from him a few weeks ago saying how much he had enjoyed his trip. In his email he included a beautiful poem that he had written whilst in Lisbon. With his kind permission, I have included it below.
Amos has now set up a website called Lisbon Poems to showcase his gift with words. Lisbon is his muse. On the site he writes :-
“Lisbon is a city that demands to be written about. Everything about Lisbon seems to quicken my senses and inspire me. It’s a deeply melancholic place, a deeply warm and local place, a unique city. In my humble view, it is the greatest city in the world.”
I couldn’t agree more Amos 🙂
Beneath the Triumphal Arc on Augusta Street
By
Amos Mallard
Lisbon is gentle, warm, sad.
The walls are waxed in carnelian light, the sky is brass
Each cobbled stone is white and weary and undulates a woven path
Toward the sea
Narrow as a knife blade
Tiles and plaster crack, paper peels and fades
Dark, slender wristed women lift their chins and walk away
And pigeons nest in minarets
Dust and loving breath upon the Tagus
Turn Pessoan faded pages.
Whip white sheets on balconies, cool flushed faces
For those beneath the arc on Augusta Street
Comments
6 responses to “A Reader’s Poem”
I love the poem and it pulls me even more to Lisbon!
Lovely poem and it’s nice to see somebody can really “get” was Lisbon is about even on such a short trip.
Stumbled across your blog only the other day. Congratulations. It’s great. I have a blog called Positively Portugal and it’s nice to see other people love it here as much as I do.
Hi Catarina – thanks for your comment. It is a lovely poem isn’t it. Love your blog! I’ve added a link to you 🙂 Obrigada
Hi Catarina, thanks for the compliments. I’ve also linked to your blog from my site. PS – I changed my site url again (I know, I know…). I can be found at http://www.lisbonpoems.wordpress.com
Amos
Great poem. I have yet to visit Lisbon but have spent a lot of time around the Algarve and love the Portugese climate and pace of life. The poem certainly inspires me to visit soon 🙂
I just discovered your blog. I went to Lisbon and stayed for five months this year. It still captures the heart.