A poem gift from my friend Iracema

My friend Iracema tacked up this poem for me as a gift in my bathroom in our bed and breakfast in Barichara. Iracema is a poet and a philosophy teacher and one of my dearest friends in Rio. Here is her blog. We traveled together in Colombia and discovered Barichara together, and Barichara is now one of my favorite places on earth. More to come on Barichara later. Her poem Bichetinho inspires me as a traveler who necessarily takes risks. Or Iracema puts it, as a “mulher que vive demais” (a woman who lives too much).

Here is an English translation.

Bichetinho (Little Animal)

When I die
Even in devastating sadness
I’ll die with happiness
Of having followed possibilities
Of love, of beauty
And the adventure of being meat
In the midst of so many stones

Barichara, August 3, 2010
Iracema Macedo