Books
were once
trees
collecting the sun and the rain
and giving shelter
to passing birds
burying themselves in the ground
among the decay
and were touched
by the wind
like an instrument
carrying flowers and fruits
like ourselves on the way back
from the market
communicating
with the electricity
of insects
in a conversation where
the radical silence answers
to an intense and electric vibration
they had a cover
a thick bark
under which pumped
the words of sap
giving slow goodbyes from a distance
lacking propitious means
for the trip
have you entered the forest one day
in the morning
to hear the song of light
filtered through the leaves?
there, books are born
Ana Martins Marques is a poet and holds a Literature master’s degree from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). She has published seven books, including Da arte das armadilhas (Companhia das Letras, 2011), Como se fosse a casa (a correspondence), with Eduardo Jorge (Relicário, 2017), O livro dos jardins (Quelônio, 2019) and Risque esta palavra (Companhia das Letras, 2021).
“Liber” was specially written for this book.