You were there!

At the peak of the mountain

Where all Energy was born 

You were there!

In the middle of the crowd
Where I was looking for friendship 

You were there!

On the sidewalk of life 

Where I sometimes fell 

You were there!

In a look full of tears 

I exchanged for smiles 

You were there!

In the middle of two points 

There was a comma
You were there!

Will you be there!? 

Where?

Always, wherever 

I am In times of joy
Or those…
You will always be there

And you are

You are, you are, 

Always you!

In Pingos by Liliana Ribeiro

Be free

Today 

I want to be Free,
Just free,
Only free.

Free to fly,
Free to dive in the sea,
Free and be a butterfly
With all colors
Of the rainbow.

Free to feel
The force of Mother Nature
Which gives me
Breath, tenderness, love,
Free to feel
The air that is food
For my heart.

Oh!
Even when fingers don't move
And in my veins the blood wants to flow
I will continue free,
Free to be and love
It won't be me anymore… conditioned,
But I will be forever,
A colored moth flying in freedom.
Will be FREE!

In Pingos by Liliana Ribeiro

What do we do not to feel?

Irresistible!...
How can I look in your eyes

Without feeling yourself, 

Without feeling the strength 

That overflows from you,
Without feeling the shiver of your soul
That warms mine in clear and empty hours?!

How can I touch your face
Without feeling the marks of your life, 

Without tasting your lips,
Without feeling the voice that intones in me, 

Without smelling the salt air?!

How can I pamper your body 

Without feeling your breast, 

Without feeling your womb,
Without feeling your body,

Without feeling your purity,

Without feeling your difference, 

Without feeling your joy, 

Without feeling your smile?!

What do we do not to feel?

Sincerely…
I do not know… 

Or maybe…

Stop being Person…



In Pingos by Liliana Ribeiro

Let me...

Let me...
Stay here
Alone and speechless
Decide what I want
Making me
And what of me
I want to do.

Let me...
Decide where I´ll to go!
I might fail
Or it might not be my destiny
But I will go by my foot...
And if it's not my path,
I will come back on my foot.

Let me
Be the flame of my pain, live with it...
And with love
Welcome it, receive it,
Love it and caress it
To set ourselves free one day
And to be LIFE.

In Pingos by Liliana Ribeiro

I have decided

When it's hard
To decide what there is to decide,
When I think I should go,
But the other says not to go
And my being says I have to go...
And that's the way to go…
Sometimes in the confrontation of feeling,
Doubt doesn't let me react...
But I know,
I'll make it…

I already know…
I have decided
I’ll go!

In Pingos by Liliana Ribeiro

I'm alone

I'm alone!

The rain won't let me go,
The wind whistles me,
The waves lay on the sand,
The cold warms me up...

I'm alone...
The kiss soothes me,
The look caresses me,
The arms hug me,
The feet guide me,
The voice calls me,
The heat warms me...

In the end...
I'm not alone!

In Pingos by Liliana Ribeiro

Sleep

In sleep, I find myself.
In sleep, I rest my body.
In sleep, I forget everything.
In sleep, I feel light, light as the wind.
In sleep, I travel to a world that does not exist.
In sleep, I have my beautiful dreams.
In sleep, my mind rests.
What would I be without my sleep?

In sleep, I paint the world.
In sleep, I find peace.
In sleep, I catch wind and water.
In sleep, I am eternally a child.
In sleep, I swim to the bottom of the sea.
In sleep, I feel like a flower.
In sleep, I fly like a seagull.
What would I be without my sleep?

In Pingos by Liliana Ribeiro

DELIVERY

We see the Angel of Delivery rooted in the Earth and it amazes us, because this message belongs to the violet chakra, our highest energy. It is necessary to understand that, if you don’t live intensely here on Earth every second of your present, of your daily life, you will be out of your place. We decided to come to Earth, to this planet, to learn more about our evolution, so you have to live here, with your foot firmly on the ground and surrendered to life with your five senses, with the intention of living everything intensely. Surrendered to the present minute by minute, as it is, without resistance, Here-Now, Earth-Heaven / Heaven-Earth.”

In Day-to-Day with the Angels

Marta Cabeza.

A woman – 26-years-old

8th March 2004. A new direction, a new life, a new woman. I wanted to wake up at the same time as usual, and have breakfast with my mother. Afterwards I got ready to go to the Tourism Department in the Parish Council building of Espinho, where I’m going to do my traineeship!

I became more and more autonomous over time.

I can do my routines easily, but not always at the same pace. Sometimes, I get angry with myself: “today, I’m tighten my shoes at first try; tomorrow, I’ll not be able to fasten my bra so quickly; today, I put the splints on with great ease, tomorrow they won't fit well as they should; today, it takes me twenty minutes to get to the Tourism Department, tomorrow, nine o'clock and I'm still on 19th street…

Well, not every day is like every day for me!

HARMONY

Only the beauty of a flower changes the solitude and dryness of the desert. Only your inner harmony changes every situation, every act, every thought. You are that flower, in you is harmony, carry it always with you and you will never be alone. Don't look for it abroad, don't waste time"

In Day-to-Day with the Angels.

Marta Cabeza.

Waiting, … but in Iris’s company

Gabriela opened her grocery in October, in Ovar. Therefore, I went to my sister's home in order to avoid staying alone for too much time. I took the opportunity to make her company and to help her starting the grocery business. I replaced any sold out product on the displays at my pace, helped labeling products, or registered small customer purchases while she did other things. At the end of the day, we returned home with Iris and Diogo. We shared home tasks like taking care of the little one, cooking dinner or setting the table and everything was done with much love. After a harmonious and funny dinner, laughing about the new things Iris was doing, we watched television or spent some time on the computer. I really enjoyed those days. They passed quickly. It kept me busy, I made Gabriela some company and helped her as much as I could, and in return, she gave me same affection like old days, and the pamper from Iris.

"JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL HAVE PITY WITH MY NEIGHBOR, AND WITH EVERY LIVING BEING" Micao Usui.

I celebrated my 19^th birthday with my new classmates

My classmates were very supportive. Although we were only four girls, we were great friends, and gathered for lunch and to study. The proof of this was that a large number of classmates came to my 19^th birthday party, and I remember the joy I felt when I received the Lightning Bolt polo shirt, because I love polo shirts, and we had a great time together, during the entire party.

"JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL ACT WITH HONESTY" - Micao Usui.

My first successful result in English language

I also managed to recover for the first time in English. I attended English language support classes to overcame many difficulties. The teacher challenged me to study harder and do better, all the time. However, in grammar, even understanding all the rules, I was still struggling with vocabulary and comprehension.
I think, only in Geography I was not able to come up with a positive grade, because I wasn’t able to memorize the given subjects, as well as in History and in Portuguese language, nevertheless, I managed to successfully reach a positive grade a few times in the last two.

"JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL NOT HAVE WRATH" Micao Usui.

 I kept the track of the lessons, but it was difficult to write the letters right

At school, I could keep up classes, but at a different pace. I understood well what the teacher taught, however I was much slower doing the assignments. I had some difficulty writing the letters perfectly, but the Special Education teacher from the Cerebral Palsy Rehabilitation Centre of Oporto suggested my teacher other sheets, with larger lines and squares, to make writing easier for me. I also couldn’t paint flawless like my classmates.

“JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL HAVE NO WORRIES” Micao Usui.

Gym classes

We gladly lined up to for the gym one day per week. The teacher managed me to participate in all classes without any problems. I performed warm-up exercises followed by a running perfectly. The remain class time was very different and more productive for me. Teacher Raul replaced me the jumps and somersaults in specific exercises, more suitable to my condition, on a green mattress. This way, I felt that I was not being discriminated from my classmates and I participated eagerly.

"JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL THANK GOD FOR MY BLESSINGS" Micao Usui.

My first book O meu arco-íris (“My Rainbow”)

Everything felt right, but something was wrong...

As I arrived home, I was welcomed by my father and the giggling anxiety of Gabriela, my only eight-years-old sister.

Aunt Noemia took care of me as I turned four months of age, so that my mother could go back to work at the kindergarten, where she had been dealing with children.

Apparently my development seemed normal, but my mother noticed that the position of my hands was not quite right, and reported it to the pediatrician on the eight-month appointment. But, by watching the strength I applied on opening and closing the drawers of doctor Trindade's desk, he evaluated nothing to be alarmed of.

However, in order to clean her conscience, my mother took me to doctor Ofélia Miranda, at the Maria Pia Hospital in Oporto. Everything seemed to be ok, but something was wrong...

At the age of one, I still couldn’t walk by myself, and in order to move around home, I used a kitchen bench to help me with my lack of balance. And bad news came from Dr. Ofélia Miranda, the neuropediatrician who diagnosed my cerebral palsy.

Several things could have caused the injury: the fact that I was born with the umbilical cord around my neck, the use of a suction cup, the respiratory arrest or the lack of oxygen that took place during those minutes in which I was "as good as dead", even my parent’s blood incompatibility, or even God's will... (or maybe my will, when I decided to come to this world...).

Biography

Liliana Ribeiro was born in Espinho (Portugal) with cerebral palsy, on 11th December 1977.

She launched her autobiographical book O Meu Arco-Iris (“My Rainbow”) on 11th December 2010 in which she tells the story of her life experience.

She has always been encouraged by her family to never give up dreaming and fighting for her dreams.

By attending regular schools, she confronted painful challenges and misadventures that helped her to understand the meaning of LIFE. Today, she’s reaping the rewards of this fight she never gave up.

She’s working at the Municipality of Espinho as Administrative Assistant, in the Financial and Tourism Management Division – performing functions as Technical Assistant (Multimedia).

Her poet’s soul revealed itself in her early age.She attended the “Antologia dos Poetas de Espinho” (Anthology of Espinhos’ Poets) in 2013, the “Antologia da Poesia Contemporânea Entre o Sono e o Sonho” (Anthology of Contemporary Poetry between sleep and dream”, by Chiado publisher, the “Antologia Poetas d’Hoje II” (Anthology Poets of Today II), and the “Antologia Poetas da Costa Verde” (Anthology The Green Coast Poets” in 2015.



She launched her poetry book Pingos (“Drops”) on 12th December 2015.