Review of Carlos Drummond De Andrade's Poem "Residue"

Because I loved reading several other Spanish language authors including Jorge Borges and Pablo Neruda, I went looking for others and found Carlos Drummond de Andrade's work in the Discovery of Poetry by Frances Mayes. I chose this poem to review for National Poetry Month because it uses several of my favorite poetic techniques to convince me to read a very long poem and enjoy it. Most the time in reading a long poem, I lose interest or lose the thread of the poem. In "Residue" I found a poem about the break up of a relationship and very strong but subtle emotion.

I guess as introduction, I should explain that the translation I have is by Virginia de Araújo which reads somewhat differently than that which is posted on the internet.

Second, I should explain a bit about why I was caught by this poem.

First, the poet's use of repetition of the line "Of everything, a little stayed" as well as the word "stayed". It begs the question, what has left? So in four short sentences, most relying on tone and white space, the poet paints for me a relationship that existed and then ended, badly. This to me is art.

Example from the first stanza:

Of everything, a little stayed.

Of my fear. Of your temper.

Of stammered screams. Of the rose,

A little.

The use of repetition introduces each stanza almost as a new thought on the same subject, but also a new emotional reaction.

First stanza, shell-shocked.

Second stanza, guilt. : A little of the light stayed.

Third stanza, tender, sad, loss. : A little of the dust

Then the poet moves on, almost as if he's seeking some consolation. This is where the repetition becomes the driving force for the poem, dragging the reader in to new details and nuances.

By the seventh stanza, the poet has reached a new phase, wondering about himself perhaps still existing in his lost love's life, an example:

If a little stays of everything,

Why shouldn't something mine stay.

Too? In the train

running north, on a ship,

By the eight stanza, I'm beginning to feel really sad for this man for his loss. An example mid stanza:

Of everything, a little stays:

Of me, of you; of Abelard.

Here, the reference to Abelard takes me down the track of the sad lover's Abelard and Heloise that are torn apart and sent away to be a monk and nun respectively. So I wonder who is martyred, and perhaps that is what he intends.

The end of the poem twists entirely to almost a vengeful agony of having lost. He's a man hurt and he shows how bitterly he feels it.

An example, I use ... on a line to show missing lines:

But of everything terrible, a little stays,

And under the beating waves

And under the clouds and winds

...

a little something always stays.

A button, sometimes. A rat.

The rat almost sounds vindictive but on the other hand, the rat is the symbol for survival against the worst in life. It's a very intriguing, heartfelt poem from a real master.

To see more poems by Carlos Drummond de Andrade see the following references. I chose the link to learning about this poet on his poem "Your Shoulders Hold Up the World" because it is very akin to Residue.

Wikipedia also has a good a good biography for Carlos Drummond de Andrade.