HEARTS AND SOULS is my new book of poetry.

In an age where violence, war, crime and horror has taken the front stage, Leopoldo Paradela has made a bold return to the themes that have designed goodness in this world – love and spirituality. This book should be commended for its departure from worn out dark themes and getting back into love, hope and creation, themes that in the interest of being different have been near neglected in contemporary poetry. With a vast life experience, he has tried to transcribe his ideas, emotions and views through poetry, describing with intense passion, the many doubts concerning the state of human survival while revering the sublime in our human existence.

The poet brings a very Brazilian voice in the writing, choosing to lean on tradition in verse and form in many cases. It promises a great fireside read.

SELECTED POEMS:                      AMOR VINCIT OMNIA

Let me look at you and

make sense of my theology.

No matter what I do,

I can never empty my heart.

Good for me is good for all.

Silence! My heart speaks;

Love conquers all.

                                                                                            
                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    The Tree

What else can I tell you other than admire you.

When I see the arrival of spring, I feel the aroma of your presence.

When you burst forth leaves and flowers, I see the awakening of new lives.

Through the burgeoning of your fruits, I hear the birth of a child.

With your brilliant colors, you bring proof of your divine existence.

The roots that uphold you are the true mirror of our human bodies.

Since creation, you have been present amongst us between pleasure and sin.

From your luscious fruits you taught us good and evil.

So magnificent you are that God chose you to be in His primal garden.