28 phrases by Carolina Maria de Jesus filled with social criticism

There must be someone who, reading what I write, will say: this is a lie! But, the miseries are real.

There are people who, on Saturdays, go dancing. I do not dance. I think it’s silly to keep running here and there. I drive around so much to get money to eat.

When man decides to reform his conscience, the world will take another route.

Today we are slaves to the cost of living.

Rich children play in the gardens with their favorite toys. And poor children accompany their mothers begging in the streets. What tragic inequalities and what games of fate.

There are those who work. And there are those who take life left and right.

Who doesn’t have a friend, but has a book, has a road.

Before eating I saw the sky, the trees, the birds, everything yellow, after I ate, everything returned to normal in my eyes.

In the countryside I was happier, I had peace of mind. He enjoyed life and had no illness. And here in São Paulo, I’m a poet!

There are times when I revolt with the troubled life I lead. And there are times when I come to terms with it.

I classify São Paulo like this: The Palace is the visiting room. The City Hall is the dining room and the city is the garden. And the favela is the backyard where the garbage is thrown.

The friendship of the illiterate is sincere. And hate too.

Life is like a book. Only after having read it do we know how it ends.

I like to handle a book. The book is the best human invention.

Politicians know that I am a poet. And that the poet faces death when he sees his people oppressed.

Formerly what oppressed man was the word Calvary; today is salary.

The greatest spectacle of the poor today is eating.

Democracy is losing its adherents. In our country everything is weakening. Money is weak. Democracy is weak and politicians are very weak. And everything that is weak, dies one day.

I was tired of living on the fringes of life.

When I realized that I am a poet I was sad because the excess of imagination was too much.

I’ve come to the conclusion that we don’t need to ask anyone anything. As time goes by, we become aware of everything.

Ah, with me the world will change. I don’t like the world as it is.

The black is only free when he dies.

The dizziness from hunger is worse than that from alcohol. The dizziness of alcohol compels us to sing. But that of hunger makes us tremble. I realized that it’s horrible to have only air in your stomach.