F e r n a n d a P&ssoa
P
I;
FOREVER Sd#p3NE ELSE
selected poems
SUB Hamburg
A/636815
translated by
RICHARD ZENITH
3rd edition
ASSI'RIO & ALVIM
CONTENTS
Introductory Note
Pessoa on His Literary Personalities
13
19
ALBERTO CAEIRO
from The Keeper of Sheep
Eu nunca guardei rebanhos
I've never kept sheep
..
Pensar em Deus e desobedecer a Deus
To think about God is to disobey God
.
Sou um guardador de rebanhos
I'm a keeper of sheep
0 Tejo e mais belo que o rio que corre pela minha aldeia
The Tagus is more beautiful than the river that flows through my village.
Como quem num dia de verao abre a porta de casa
As when a man opens his front door on a summer day
0 que nos vemos das cousas sao as cousas
What we see of things are the things
Se quiserem que eu tenha um misticismo, estd bem, tenho-o
If you want me to have a mysticism, then fine, I have one
0 misterio das cousas, onde estd ele?
The mystery of things — where is it?
Num dia excessivamente nitido
On an incredibly clear day
Da mais altajanela da minha casa
' From the highest window of my house
from The Shepherd in Love
Quando eu nao te tinha
Before I had you
0 amor e uma companhia
Love is a company
27
33
35
37
39
41
43
45
47
49
53
55
from Uncollected Poems
Passar a limpo a Materia
- To clean and tidy up Matter
57
7
Quando tomar a vir a primavera
When Spring returns
A manhd rata. Nao: a manhd nao raid
Morning breaks. No: morning doesn't break
Tu, mistico, ves uma significagao em todas as cousas
You who are a mystic see a meaning in all things
Ah, querem uma luz melhor que a do sol!
Ah! They want a light that's better than the sun's!
Gozo os campos sem repararpara eles
I enjoy the fields without paying them any notice
Gosto do ceu porque nao creio que ele seja infinito
1 like the sky because I don't believe it's infinite
Tambem sei fazer conjecturas
I can also make conjectures
Nao basta abrir a janela
To see the fields and the river
RICARDO REIS
'
'
"
from Odes
Nao consentem os deuses mais que a vida
The gods grant nothing more than life
Cada cousa a seu tempo tem seu tempo
Each thing, in its time, has its time.
Vos que, crentes em Cristos e Marias
Ah, you believers in Christs and Marys
Tirem-me os deuses
Let the gods
Segue o teu destino
Follow your destiny
Sofro, Lidia, do medo do destino
I suffer, Lydia, from the fear of destiny
Manhd que raias sem olhar a mim
O morning that breaks without looking at me
Uma apos uma as ondas apressadas
Wave after rushing wave
No momento em que vamos pelos prados
At those times when, walking in the fields
Cumpre a lei, seja vil ou vil tu sejas
Obey the law, whether it's wrong or you are
8
59
61
63
65
67
69
71
: . ...
73
79
81
85
89
93
..
95
97
99
101
103
Vossa formosa juventude leda
Your blithe and lovely youthfulness
A flor que es, nao a que das, eu quero
I want the flower you are, not the one you give
Como se cada beijo
As if each lass
De novo traz as aparentes novas
.
The new summer that newly brings
..;
Nao queiras, Lidia, edificar no 'spago
Don't try to build in the space you suppose
Jd sobre a fronte vd se me acinzenta
Already over my vain brow
Toda visao da crenga se acompanha
Where there's vision, there's belief
Pesa a sentenga atroz do algoz ignoto
On each ignorant neck weighs the dread sentence
0 que sentimos, nao o que e sentido
.What we feel, not what is felt
Outros com liras ou com harpas narram
Others narrate with lyres or harps
Ningubn, na vasta selva religiosa
' In the vast religious jungle sprawling
Nada fica de nada. Nada somos
• Nothing of nothing remains. We're nothing :.
Para ser grande, se inteiro: nada
To be great, be whole: don't exaggerate. .
Vivem em nos inumeros
Countless lives inhabit us
105
107
.
:
109
Ill
. 115
:
117
•
119
121
123
•
125
•..127
..
129
.
131
133
ALVARO DE CAMPOS
ODE TR1UNFAL
.......
TRIUMPHAL ODE
139
A PASSA GEM DAS HORAS
157
TIME'S PASSAGE
LISBON REVISITED (1923)
: ...
LISBON REVISITED (1923)
167
LISBON REVISITED (1926)
171
LISBON REVISITED (1926)
9
TABACARIA
177
THE TOBACCO SHOP
Mestre, meu mestre querido!
Master, my dear master!
•
Ah, abram-me outra realidade!
Ah, open my eyes to another reality!
Ah a frescura na face de nao cumprir um dever
Ah, the freshness in the face of leaving a task undone
Hoje que tudo me falta, como se fosse o chdo
• Today it's as if the ground had given way beneath me'.
191
197
199
201
TRAPO
WET RAG
203
E o esplendor dos mapas, caminho abstracto para a imaginagao concreta
And the magnificence of maps, abstract path to the concrete imagination . . .
207
MAGNIFICAT
,
MAGNIFICAT
. . . C o m o , nos dias d e grandes acontecimentos n o centro d a cidade
... Like on the days of great events in the center of town
Stmbolos? Estou farto de simbolos
Symbols? I'm sick of symbols
Os antigos invocavam as Musas
The ancients invoked the Muses
;
Nao set se os astros mandam neste mundo
I don't know if the stars rule the world
Ver as cousas ate ao fundo
To see into the depths of things
....-
209
211
213
215
217
221
DOBRADA A MODA DO PORTO
' OPORTO-STYLE TRIPE
-223
Gostava de gostar de gostar
I'd like to be able to like liking
Ah o som de abanar o ferro da engomadeira
Ah the sound of the maid's iron passing back and forth . .'
Comego a conhecer-me. Nao existo
I'm beginning to know myself. I don't exist
FERNANDO PESSOA (HIMSELF)
0 sino da minha aldeia
O church bell of my village
10
225
227
229
'.
235
ABD/CAQiO
237
ABDICATION
CHUVA OBLIQUA
SLANTING RAIN
239
Um piano na minha rua
A piano on my street
251
CANQiO
SONG
253
0 curva do horizonte, quem te passa
Whoever, horizon, passes beyond you
255
NATAL
257
CHRISTMAS
0 ANDA1ME
THE SCAFFOLD
.:
259
A CEIFEIRA
263
THE REAPER
QUALQUER MUSICA
.
SOME MUSIC
Contemplo o lago mudo
1 contemplate the silent pond
Nao sei quantas almas tenho
I don't know how many souls I have
Deixo ao cego e ao surdo
•The soul with boundaries
Quero ser livre, insincero
I want to be free and insincere
265
267
269
271
275
AUTOPS1COGRAFIA
AUTOPSYCHOGRAPHY
277
A morte e a curva da estrada
Death is a bend in the road
279
ISTO
THIS
281
Viajar! Perder paises
To travel! To change countries
Neste mundo em que esquecemos
In this world where we forget
Tenho em mim como uma bruma
I have in me like a haze
283
285
287
11
LIBERDADE
FREEDOM
289
CONSELHO
ADVICE
293
from Message (1934)
ULISSES
ULYSSES
295
D. DINIS
KINGDINIZ
297
O INFANTE
PRINCE HENRY
299
MARPORTUGU£S
•
PORTUGUESE SEA
301
ENGLISH POEMS
two poems o/Alexander Search
.
•
TO ONE PLAYING
.
.
ON THE ROAD
307
308
from 35 Sonnets
When I should be asleep to mine own voice
The edge of the green wave whitely doth hiss
309
' 310
from The Mad Fiddler
:.
NOTMYSELF
311
CHALICE
-312
INVERSION
Notes
'
-
;
313
315
12