Eu não vi o mar. Não sei se o mar é bonito. Não sei se ele é bravo. O mar não me importa. Eu vi a lagoa. A lagoa, sim. A lagoa é grande e calma també… - Carlos Drummond de Andrade

I never saw the sea.
I don't know if it's pretty,
I don't know if it's rough.
The sea doesn't matter to me. I saw the lake.
Yes, the lake.
The lake is large and also calm. The rain of colors
from the exploding afternoon
makes the lake shimmer
makes it a lake painted
by every color.
I never saw the sea.
I saw the lake ...

Tenho apenas duas mãos
e o sentimento do mundo,
mas estou cheio de escravos,
minhas lembranças escorrem
e o corpo transige
na confluência do amor.

When I was born, one of those twisted
angels who live in the shadows said:
"Carlos, get ready to be a misfit in life!"
(...)
My God, why have you forsaken me
if you knew that I wasn't God,
if you knew that I was weak.
World so large, world so wide,
if my name were Clyde,
it would be a rhyme but not an answer.
World so wide, world so large,
my heart's even larger.
I shouldn't tell you,
but this moon
but this brandy
make me sentimental as hell.