Mark Strand - The Hill (A colina)

 

I have come this far on my own legs,

missing the bus, missing taxis,

climbing always. One foot in front of the other,

that is the way I do it.

It does not bother me, the way the hill goes on.

Grass beside the road, a tree rattling

its black leaves. So what?

The longer I walk, the farther I am from everything.

One foot in front of the other. The hours pass.

One foot in front of the other. The years pass.

The colors of arrival fade.

That is the way I do it.

Cheguei até aqui nas minhas próprias pernas,

depois de perder autocarros e táxis,

sempre a subir. Um pé, depois outro,

é assim que eu faço.

Não me incomoda, a colina estar lá.

Há ervas na berma da estrada, uma árvore que sacode

as suas folhas negras. E depois?

Quanto mais eu ando, mais longe estou de tudo.

Um pé, depois outro. As horas passam.

Um pé, depois outro. Passam os anos.

As cores da chegada desaparecem.

É assim que eu faço.

      Mark Strand was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet, essayist, and translator. "The hill" is about the speaker climbing a hill using his own two legs after missing a bus and taxi, which becomes a metaphor for our life journey. The missed bus and taxis represent missed opportunities and different choices that perhaps would’ve been easier than the choices we made. He walks passed a tree with 'rattling its black leaves', which is a symbol of death threatening him, but still he must complete his journey of days and years.