UNLAWFUL ewor lost c nofrills GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE FINALIST CITY OF TORONTO BOOK PRIZE FINALIST ““Wiry, clever, playful, and lyrical.” ~ GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE JURY CITATION * ..a brilliant and exciting book DAVID HELWIG, THE GAZETTE (MONTREAL) “(Moure] has given us a fun, hooligan effort of a book, one that gamely meets the spirit, rather than the letter of Caeiro’s poem.” — CARMINE STARNINO, MONTREAL REVIEW OF BOOKS ‘An ecstatic long poem of hope and creeks and cats and rain, Sheep's Vigil by a Fervent Person catches Governor Generals Award winner Erin Mouré at her ‘most playful and ingenuous. And wearing her Galician name. A temporary move to Toronto, a twisted ankle, ‘an empty house — all inspired Mouré as she read Alberto Caciro/Fernando Pessoa's classic long poem 0 Guardador de Rebarihos. For fun, she started to ‘translate, altering tones and vocabularies. From the Portuguese countryside and roaming sheep of 1914, a zist-century Toronto emerged, its neighbourhoods still echoing the 1950s, their dips and hollows, hordes of wild cats, paved creeks. And her poem became a ‘ransclation, a transcreation, the jubilant and irre- pressble vigil ofa fervent person, TGecpogwnetweiag #885 coca tg Ison sracareeceosSheep’s Vigil by @eRenvent Pers o'n A Transelation of Alberto Caeiro/Fernando Pessoa’s 0 Guardador de Rebanhos RIN MOURE WNaNSTPretic, Engh tet ad ranltion copyright © 201 Erin Mi The Portage tex taken om the tid leo Fernando Fesods ‘lnas Gmple: Poss de ire Cav (hon: eiges Ae 97) ‘nd was nial pulsed i oye The work iia the publi dora in Canada sof ate pabiation, Allright reserved No part of this publication maybe reproduced or transmitted ‘inany form ory any means, electronic or mechanical, inching, photocopying contig, or any information Sorsge ang etrevl system, ‘without perision in weg rom the publisher. First published in 2001 by House of Anansi Press Ld. ‘This edition published in 2e0g by House of Anansi Preis in no Spadina Avenue, Sut 0: “Toronto, 0%, 350264 aL 685-443 Pa 6367107 ted in Canaday Distributed inthe United States by Harpe Coad eh Publishes Group West 199s Markham Rs "p09 Fourth Steet Scarborough ox, sa Berkely, ca sae Tollffeetee 800-387-017 Tl fe te 800-788-3125 House of Anansi Pes is comaited to protecting our natal envionment. ‘spat of ou efforts his book sprinted on paper tha contin postconaumer recy rex iat, nts proceed chlarne fe wpm 34567 Mout, Ein, 1955 ‘Sheep vig bya fervent person 150 9780-86754 860:4 1, Pessoa Femando, #1035 — Adaptations 1. Pessoa, Fernando, int-i's Guardado de rebanns. 1 Tite Psbs76.09685 2001 cHu'ss CU-BHIBS9 FagI99.3. Ey 20 “ypogrenhy: Ltrs core tg Ange Guera stor photog sph an alton sucker Fhoteeph Adnan Ley etre fo tial support ofr ubiing program he conde Coco te dot be Ours Cou and de Goormentof ‘Gad tivagh he Canad oa and Printed and bound in Canada CONTENTS Notes in Recollection vii 1 What, me, guard sheep? 3 11 My sight’ sharp as a sunflower 7 1m Atsunset, bending out the window 9 tv This afternoon a thunderstorm careened 11 vv There's enough metaphysics in not thinking at all... 15 VI Just thinking about God is disobeying God 21 vit From Garrison Creek I see the earth to the antipodes of the Universe 23 vvitt One noon at the end of spring 25 1x Hey, these are my sheep 37 x “Hey there, you sheepish gir, in your sheep coat” 39 x1 Some woman out there has a piano 41 1x11 Virgil's shepherds played novenas and other things 43, sit Get up, there's no solace 45 xiv Rhymes get on my nerves. Rarely 47 xv The four songs that follow... ay xv What Pd give for my life to be my neighbour's old car 51 xvit Don't prate on about mixed salad 53 xvint What Pd give to be the sidewalk on Winnett 55 x1x Moonlight’ beatin suburb’ lawn 57 xx The Humber is pretty fabulous, really 59 x1 IfT could chew on the whole earth 61 xxxit Tremulous summer in a white cost 63 xxint My azure gaze is heavenly 65 xxiv What we see of things are things 67 xxv Those soap bubbles blown by the boy Virgil 69 xxv1 At times on days of such honed and perfect light 72 xxvii Only Nature is divine, and she's a girl... 73 xxvii Today I read nearly two pages 75 ‘xxix: What [say and write are not always equal 77, xxx So I'ma mystic. And then? 79 xxxt fat times I claim flowers smile and rivers sing, 81