Tear of a Negro Woman

A slave with her child (Salvador de Bahia, 1884)
(Marc Ferrez/Moreira Salles Institute)

Lágrima de preta

Encontrei uma preta

que estava a chorar

pedi-lhe uma lágrima

para a analisar.

Recolhi a lágrima

com todo o cuidado

num tubo de ensaio

bem esterilizado.

Olhai-a de um lado,

do outro e de frente:

tinha um ar de gota

muito transparente.

Mandei vir os ácidos,

as bases e os sais,

as drogas usadas

em casos que tais.

Ensaiei a frio,

experimentei ao lume,

de todas as vezes

deu-me o que é costume:

Nem sinais de negro,

nem vestígios de ódio.

Água (quase tudo)

e cloreto de sódio.

— António Gedeão

Quitandeiras (Rio de Janeiro, 1875): 
Women street sellers also known as “slaves who earn.”
(Marc Ferrez/Moreira Salles Institute)

Translation:

I found a negro 

woman weeping,

and begged her for a tear

to analyze.

I collected the tear

with utmost care

in a test tube

that was sterilized.

I observed it from one side

to the other, and in front:

it seemed just a drop

of crystal clear air.

So I tested it with acids,

with alkalines, and salts,

and such substances as used

in these cases.

Probed with ice,

and lit with fire,

it gave the same result

every time:

Neither blackness

nor anything foul was found,

Only pure water

and sodium chloride.

(Gainesville, FL, 2008)

António Gedeão: Chemist and Poet

                    António Gedeão (1906-1997) was the nom de plume of Rómulo Vasco da Gama de Carvalho, poet and physical chemist, who also wrote on the history of science and instruction manuals in physics and chemistry. He published his first book of poems in 1956 under this pseudonym. In 1964, to commemorate Galileo's 4th centenary, he wrote Poema para Galileu. This poem, set to music and sung by Manuel Freire, became a hit, along with others such as Pedra Filosofal and Lágrima de preta.