Freud was a neurologist

(Cindy Sherman. Untitled #153)

autópsia

no sotão descobriu a outra
dor fantasma no frasco de vidro

o hematoma media 60 mm
lobo temporal

uncus, jamais vu
e cortes finos de parafina

lâmina de astrócitos    edema

no microscópio
trombos, um feixe de luz

iluminava a sombra

autopsy

in the loft was discovered another
ghost pain in a jar of glass

a hematoma measured 60 mm
the temporal lobe

uncus, jamais vu
and fine paraffin cuts

astrocyte blade             edema

under the microscope

a clot of blood, a beam of light
illuminated a shadow

Virna Teixeira

Translated by Shelly Bhoil

The poem appeared in poetry magazine Zarf #13 earlier this year. It’s a poem I wrote some years ago, while still working as neurologist in Brazil, although inspired by my gradual transition to psychiatry and Jung’s concept of the ‘shadow’, here illustrated by Cindy Sherman’s provocative still.