from Ninguém quis ver (2023) [“No one wanted to see”]
Translated from the Brazilian Portuguese
by Hannah McKenzie
I won’t forget
my job
was to collect eggs
from the henhouse
one time by accident
I grabbed
a fertilized egg
I won’t forget
the image of the chicken fetus in the frying pan
a fetus frying in oil
a poorly formed little beak
two feathers floating
I won’t forget
my grandma’s voice
saying no need to cry
we pray for him.
no one wanted to see
I was born with rotten teeth
a family thing
my grandma went toothless
at twenty-six
all the uncles
with their dentures
beautiful kid they used to say but
like that
how’s she gonna get a boyfriend
I didn’t want a boyfriend
what I got was several broken bones
weak bones
a family thing
they said bruna you look like you could split in two
I split so many times but
no one wanted to see
that I don’t want a boyfriend
and that my bad habit
of not brushing my teeth
is because I never stop eating
because what I feel is not hunger
it’s the feeling of hunger
maybe it’s a family thing
I never understood this family thing.
punishment
at seven my biggest mistake
was knocking over the grated cheese
while I wrapped leftovers
at the hotdog stand
I recall standing frozen
looking at the half-turned pot
flipped on its side
the far-off lid
the cheese almost a powder almost sand
disappearing in the dry earth
and thinking
it could’ve been the potato sticks
so much cheaper
then
I threw myself to the ground and
shouted until the shout
gave out
like guitar strings
bursting one by one
my mother came close
and looked from above
I thought she was gonna hit me
or pull me by the ear
but no
that time
my mother wanted
for me to not feel pain
still today
I carry this thing
fragile as a soluble lash
what seems like anger
anger at me.
lesson
the heron in the mud
is still white.
routine
in the morning push
muck with the squeegee
rinse the cloths
tucked in the feet of the doorway
unstack the furniture
and put it upside down
boiled towels
bring memories of grandma
straightening the house
so many storms since
drawing with a chip of brick
suns on the sidewalk.
cosmos
six boys sitting
on the curb
the oldest says
Beto’s dad is cool
he called me to work at the fish market.
Bruna Mitrano is a writer and teacher. In recent years, she has collaborated with several magazines, including Cult and Piauí. She has contributed to more than twenty anthologies, including As 29 poetas hoje [29 poets of today], organized by Heloisa Teixeira. Bruna’s poetry books include Não (Patuá, 2016) and Ninguém quis ver (Companhia das Letras, 2023)— the latter a semifinalist for the Prêmio Oceanos [Oceans Award]. Her work has been praised by leading names in Brazilian literary criticism. In 2024, Bruna was an official guest of the Paraty International Literary Festival.
Hannah McKenzie is a 2025 Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference participant. She frequently translates news articles on human rights issues and community organizing in Rio de Janeiro favelas for Brazilian NGO RioOnWatch. Based in Chicago, she works as an immigration paralegal supporting asylum cases.