Half Polish, half black, poet Paulo Leminski was famous for his humor and his haiku that mixed lots of Japanese influence to the concrete poetry that dominated the Brazilian scene in the 60s and 70s (Décio Pignatari and the Campos brothers were the main representatives of Concretismo, in case you are wondering). Leminski’s life was short (he died in 1989, in his mid forties), as short as most of his poems (haiku are composed in a 5-7-5 syllables structure).
These translations by Chris Daniels give you a glimpse of his work. He does a reasonable job, considering all the word play and metric involved. You can also check for Leminski’s own translations (Joyce, Beckett, Mishima, Petronius etc.), novels, short stories, biographies and essays.
The following translations,
the insect on the paper
insists
i trace (a circle) around it
only
the circle
exists
um salto de sapo
jamais abolirá
o velho poço
a leaping frog
jamais n’abolira
the old pond
cortinas de seda
o vento entra
sem pedir licença”
silk curtains
the wind comes in
without asking
esta vida é uma viagem
pena eu estar
só de passagem
this life is a trip
too bad i’m
just passing through
duas folhas na sandália
o outono
também quer andar
two leaves on my sandal
autumn wants
to walk too