“I was dealt some lovely dreams last night. I was rich, pliant...”
Ismar Tirelli Neto

I was dealt some lovely dreams last night. I was rich, pliant,
had my own umbrella, was capable of expressing regret with utmost

refinement in all of the Romance languages. I mention it out of a
renewed passion for common sense. It is now I arm my men,

hurry them along the platform, it is now the God suits me
singularity. For many years I carried in my wallet a small studio

portrait of actress Rhonda Fleming as a talisman of sorts.
Then my godson was born. There occurred a change of charms.

I strut into the stalls, a little baby sock balled up in my right hand.

Ismar Tirelli Neto is a Brazilian poet, occasional fictionist, and translator. He has been publishing steadily since 2008. His more recent output tends to center on a critique of the "confessional," a basic distrust of language's communicative powers that does not fail to take into account the oppressed subject's overpowering need to communicate. The poem featured here was written directly in English during a stay in Switzerland as a Pro Helvetia fellow in 2024.