Poem
Fernando Pessoa
The gods grant nothing more than life,
The gods grant nothing more than life,So let us reject whatever lifts us
To unbreathable heights,
Eternal but flowerless.
All that we need to accept is science,
And as long as the blood in our veins still pulses
And love does not shrivel,
Let us go on
Like panes of glass: transparent to light,
Pattered by the sad rain trickling down,
Warmed by the sun,
And reflecting a little.
© Translation: 1998, Richard Zenith
From: Fernando Pessoa & Co. – Selected Poems
Publisher: Grove Press, New York, 1998
From: Fernando Pessoa & Co. – Selected Poems
Publisher: Grove Press, New York, 1998
The gods grant nothing more than life,
Não consentem os deuses mais que a vida.
Tudo pois refusemos, que nos alce
A irrespiráveis píncaros,
Perenes sem ter flores.
Só de aceitar tenhamos a ciência,
E, enquanto bate o sangue em nossas fontes,
Nem se engelha connosco
O mesmo amor, duremos,
Como vidros, às luzes transparentes
E deixando escorrer a chuva triste,
Só mornos ao sol quente,
E reflectindo um pouco.
Tudo pois refusemos, que nos alce
A irrespiráveis píncaros,
Perenes sem ter flores.
Só de aceitar tenhamos a ciência,
E, enquanto bate o sangue em nossas fontes,
Nem se engelha connosco
O mesmo amor, duremos,
Como vidros, às luzes transparentes
E deixando escorrer a chuva triste,
Só mornos ao sol quente,
E reflectindo um pouco.
© 1914, Ricardo Reis (Fernando Pessoa)
From: Poesia
Publisher: Assírio & Alvim, Lisbon
From: Poesia
Publisher: Assírio & Alvim, Lisbon
Poems
Poems of Fernando Pessoa
Close
The gods grant nothing more than life,
The gods grant nothing more than life,So let us reject whatever lifts us
To unbreathable heights,
Eternal but flowerless.
All that we need to accept is science,
And as long as the blood in our veins still pulses
And love does not shrivel,
Let us go on
Like panes of glass: transparent to light,
Pattered by the sad rain trickling down,
Warmed by the sun,
And reflecting a little.
© 1998, Richard Zenith
From: Fernando Pessoa & Co. – Selected Poems
Publisher: 1998, Grove Press, New York
From: Fernando Pessoa & Co. – Selected Poems
Publisher: 1998, Grove Press, New York
The gods grant nothing more than life,
The gods grant nothing more than life,So let us reject whatever lifts us
To unbreathable heights,
Eternal but flowerless.
All that we need to accept is science,
And as long as the blood in our veins still pulses
And love does not shrivel,
Let us go on
Like panes of glass: transparent to light,
Pattered by the sad rain trickling down,
Warmed by the sun,
And reflecting a little.
© 1998, Richard Zenith
From: Fernando Pessoa & Co. – Selected Poems
Publisher: 1998, Grove Press, New York
From: Fernando Pessoa & Co. – Selected Poems
Publisher: 1998, Grove Press, New York
Sponsors
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère