Friday, April 16, 2010

Sometimes the Bus Whispers Love Poems in My Ear

Dear Municipal Bus of Porto Alegre,

I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate that you always have poems on your windows. Not all the windows of course. You still leave ample room to see the landscape whooshing past. But, I like that you give me just a little something to read while I'm hanging on through all your funky twists and turns and jerky braking, waiting for my stop to come. And not just one poem repeated, but dozens of different ones.

Book are expensive here. In all sincerity, my beloved Portuguese translation of Twilight (Crepúsculo) cost me about $22 US dollars, if not more. So, it makes me all the more enthusiastic about the free bus poetry that you provide us passengers.


This one, "Passenger Love" by Alcir Nicolau Pereira roughly translates to:
The bus braked at the stop
And she came on board
She stayed close by sitting
And won over my heart
Lovely and beautiful passenger
Talented young woman with a pretty complexion
I tried out gallant prose
Leaving her serious, very distressed
Startled and very nervous
She warned: please, do not persist
Speaking softly and timidly:
My husband is the bus driver
So thanks again Bus, and I look forward to the next poem.

Sincerely,
Libélula Azul

P.S. Perhaps you can throw in a poem about vampires or werewolves to satisfy my high literary taste??

1 comment:

  1. Wow! That is amazing! I never would of thought of that... poems on a bus! I love it! What a way to encourage literacy and inspire the public! Awesome!

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