NECESSITIES Poem by Lêdo Ivo

A closed door is not enough for a man
to hide his love. He also needs an open door
so he can leave and lose himself in the crowd when that love explodes
like a barrel of powder in the arsenal hit by lightning.
A roof is not enough to protect a man
from heat and storm. To flee the thunderbolt
he needs a body stretched out in bed
and within reach of his hand still afraid
to advance in the dark as the rain falls on the silence of the world open like a fruit
between two thunderclaps.
In the night that falls, in the day that breaks,
man needs it all: love and the lightning bolt.