AUTHOR ROSALIENE BACCHUS


Reaching minds and hearts through storytelling



AFTER BY BRAZILIAN POET MARTHA MEDEIROS



MARTHA MEDEIROS is a poet, journalist, and chronicler, born in 1961 in Porto Alegre, capital of Brazil’s southern State of Rio Grande do Sul. After graduating in the late 1980s in Social Communication from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), she began working in advertising and marketing as a copywriter and content creator. As an undergraduate at PUCRS, she began writing poetry. In 1985, her debut poetry collection Strip-Tease received great success. Two more collections soon followed: Meia-Noite e Um Quarto / Midnight and a Quarter (1987) and Persona Non Grata (1991).


In 1993, Medeiros accompanied her husband to Santiago, Chile, for a job proposal. Leaving behind her advertising career, she dedicated her time to writing poetry and chronicles. On her return to Brazil nine months later in 1994, she took advantage of an opportunity to begin publishing her chronicles in the newspaper Zero Hora in Porto Alegre. In 1995, she published another poetry collection, De Cara Lavada / Clean Faced, and her first collection of chronicles.


With national success of her chronicles, Medeiros began focusing on publishing these collections and placing her poetry in second place. She published two more poetry collections: Poesia Reunida / Poetry Reunited (1999) and Cartas Extraviadas e Outros Poemas / Lost Letters and Other Poems (2001).


An invitation in 2004 to begin writing a column for the O Globo newspaper, based in Rio de Janeiro, increased her popularity. Her chronicles address a diversity of topics, ranging from motherhood to the cultural agenda, from politics to affective relationships. As with her poetry about everyday life and relationships, her chronicles connect with the heart of her readers.


With more than thirty books published, many of which have been adapted for theater, TV, and the cinema, Martha Medeiros has become one of the most read and respected writers in Brazil.



Photo Credit: Martha Medeiros Official Facebook Page



AFTER BY MARTHA MEDEIROS



We convince ourselves that life will be better after...

after finishing our studies,

after getting a job,

after we get married,

after we have a child,

after we have another child.


So, we feel frustrated because our children are not yet

grown up enough and we imagine that we will be happier

when they grow up and stop being children.


Afterward, we despair because they are teenagers, unbearable.

We think: "We will be happier when this phase is over!"

So, we decide that our life will be complete

when our partner would be accomplished...


When we have a better car...

When we can go on a vacation...

When we get a promotion...

When we retire...


The truth is that THERE IS NO BETTER TIME TO BE HAPPY

THAN NOW!

If not now, then when will it be?


Life is full of after...

It is better to admit it and decide to be happy now, in every manner. There is no after, nor a way to happiness, happiness is the way

and it is NOW!


Stop waiting until you finish your studies...

until you fall in love...

until you find a job...

until you get married...

until you have kids...

until they leave home...

until you get divorced...

until you lose those 10 kilos...

until Friday night or Sunday morning...

until spring, summer, autumn or winter, or until you die...


Decide then that there is no better time than

THIS to be happy!

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Work like you do not need money...

Love like you have never been hurt

and dance like no one is watching!


TRANSLATION BY ROSALIENE BACCHUS



DEPOIS POR MARTHA MEDEIROS



Convencemo-nos que a vida será melhor depois...

depois de acabar os estudos,

depois de arranjar trabalho,

depois de casarmos,

depois de termos um filho,

depois de termos outro filho.


Então, sentimo-nos frustrados porque os nossos filhos ainda não são suficientemente crescidos e julgamos que seremos mais felizes quando crescerem e deixarem de ser crianças.


Depois, desesperamos porque são adolescentes,insuportáveis. Pensamos: "Seremos mais felizes quando esta fase acabar!"

Então, decidimos que a nossa vida estará completa

quando o nosso companheiro ou companheira estiver realizado...


Quando tivermos um carro melhor...

Quando pudermos ir de férias...

Quando conseguirmos uma promoção...

Quando nos reformarmos...


A verdade é que NÃO HÁ MELHOR MOMENTO PARA SER FELIZ

DO QUE AGORA!

Se não for agora, então quando será?


A vida está cheia de depois...

É melhor admiti-lo e decidir ser feliz agora, de todas as formas.

Não há um depois, nem um caminho para a felicidade,

a felicidade é o caminho e é AGORA!


Deixa de esperar até que acabes os estudos...

até que te apaixones...

até que encontres trabalho...

até que te cases...

até que tenhas filhos...

até que eles saiam de casa...

até que te divorcies...

até que percas esses 10kg...

até sexta-feira à noite ou Domingo de manhã...

até à Primavera, o Verão, o Outono ou o Inverno, ou até que morras...


para decidires então que não há melhor momento do que justamente ESTE para seres feliz!

A felicidade é um trajecto, não um destino.

Trabalha como se não precisasses de dinheiro...

Ama como se nunca te tivessem magoado

e dança como se ninguém estivesse ver!


SOURCE: Anthology of Poetry by Martha Medeiros, published by Escritas.org, Brazil.