Os pássaros/The birds

Ouve que estranhos pássaros de noite
Tenho defronte da janela:
Pássaros de gritos sobreagudos e selvagens
O peito cor de aurora, o bico roxo.
Falam-se de noite, trazem
Dos abismos da noite lenta e quieta
Palavras estridentes e cruéis.
Cravam no luar as suas garras
E a respiração do terror desce
Das suas asas pesadas

Hear what strange birds I have
In the night outside my window.
Birds with wild and shrill cries,
Dawn-coloured breasts and purple-red beaks,
They talk at night, they bring
Strident, cruel words
From the depths of the slow, still night,
They sink their claws into the moonlight,
And the breath of terror descends
From their heavy wings

Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
Translated by Richard Zenith