That cactus resembled the desperate gestures of statuary:
Laocoön constrained by the serpents,
Ugolino and his famished children.
It also evoked the dry Northeast, carnauba, caatinga groves...
It was enormous, even for this land of exceptional ferocity.
One day, a frantic storm knocked it down by the roots.
The cactus fell across the street,
Broke the eaves of opposite houses,
Closed traffic to trams, cars, carts,
Snapped the electrical cables, for twenty-four hours depriving the city of light and power:- It was beautiful, ragged, intractable.
Original poem: 'O cacto', by Manuel Bandeira
In: 'Libertinagem', 1930
Original poem: 'O cacto', by Manuel Bandeira
In: 'Libertinagem', 1930