Poetry
I Want Nothing Anymore but Lisbon
Translated from Portuguese. Read the original →
Paulo MuhongoPoem · 3 stanzas · 22 lines
In the city of love, my feet found their way into its waters.
From the springs of Camões, where I was born,
Flowed the verses of Molière, in the delight of French poetry.
I was well served by its exquisite cuisine,
Yet no love ever blossomed within me on those lands.
From afar, I saw you, Lisbon,
And though I had no wish to draw near,
In your embrace, I found serenity,
A tranquillity that even the soil
That witnessed my birth could not give me.
Today, I want nothing more than you.
The whole world merges into you.
Any desire to explore new horizons
Now feels foreign to me; neither Paris, London,
Venice nor Washington can compare to your charms.
What I have here is nobler
Than anything those fortified cities
Could ever offer.
I have peace, and with the little I possess,
I live like a king, surrounded by laughter
And sincere embraces,
The kind I found nowhere else.
