[There was a man with tongue of wood], de Stephen Crane

There was a man with tongue of wood
Who essayed to sing
And in truth it was lamentable
But there was one who heard
The clip-clapper of this tongue of wood
And knew what the man
Wished to sing
And with that the singer was content.

* * *

Havia um homem que tinha uma língua de madeira
E que tentou cantar
E na verdade era um lamentável espetáculo
Mas houve alguém que ouviu
O matraquear da língua de madeira
E compreendeu o que o homem
Desejava cantar
E com isto o cantor se satisfez.

(in O Sapo no Horizonte. Poemas de Stephen Crane; trad. Hélio Osvaldo Alves; ed. tradutor, 1999)