I grab the dawn
As if it were a child,
A rosebush entwined
A vine of hope.
Just as the body of the city
That morning rehearses early the dance
Of whom, by force of will,
Never tire of working.
I am going down the street of this moon
That I light early on my Tagus,
I’m going on about Lisbon, naked tide
That flows into the Rossio
I am the man of the city
that morning wakes early and sings
and, for loving freedom,
with the city rises.
I am going along the roads dazzled
By the full moon of Lisbon
Until the moon infatuated
Evolves into the sail of a boat.
I am a seagull defeated
By all the bad weather at sea.
I am the man who carries
The tide of startled people.
And when I grab the dawn,
I reap the morning like a flower
On the verge hurt leafless,
A marigold blue in colour,
The marigold of freedom
That wishes me well as anyone would
The marigold of this city
That wishes me well, that wishes me well.
In my hands the dawn
Opened the April flower as well
A flower without fear, perfumed
With the aroma that the sea has,
The flower of Lisbon so beloved
That I wanted badly, that wishes me well.