Leaves, by Regis Bonvicino, translated by Michael Palmer

Female mandrake leaves

mandrakes of this moment when

vultures inhabit

the blue

mouths softer than

wine

january sun burns

the skin

burs slay vipers

salamanders and consonants

under the moss

of ciphers

(as they say

the color

of night

can’t be delayed)

chameleons

hollow hoof of deer

maimed centipedes

tail of an illustrious peacock

From “Nothing the Sun Could Not Explain: 20 Contemporary Brazilian Poets,” edited by Michael Palmer, Regis Bonvicino and Nelson Ascher. (Sun & Moon Press: 312 pp., $15.95) Copyright 1997 Reprinted by permission.