Poem
Fernando Pessoa
The washwoman beats the laundry
The washwoman beats the laundryAgainst the stone in the tank.
She sings because she sings and is sad
For she sings because she exists:
Thus she is also happy.
If I could do in verses
What she does with laundry,
Perhaps I would lose
My surfeit of fates.
Ah, the tremendous unity
Of beating laundry in reality,
Singing songs in whole or in part
Without any thought or reason!
But who will wash my heart?
© 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 washwoman beats the laundry
A lavadeira no tanque
Bate roupa em pedra bem.
Canta porque canta, e é triste
Porque canta porque existe;
Por isso é alegre também.
Ora se eu alguma vez
Pudesse fazer nos versos
O que a essa roupa ela fez,
Eu perderia talvez
Os meus destinos diversos.
Há uma grande unidade
Em, sem pensar nem razão,
E até cantando a metade,
Bater roupa em realidade...
Quem me lava o coração?
Bate roupa em pedra bem.
Canta porque canta, e é triste
Porque canta porque existe;
Por isso é alegre também.
Ora se eu alguma vez
Pudesse fazer nos versos
O que a essa roupa ela fez,
Eu perderia talvez
Os meus destinos diversos.
Há uma grande unidade
Em, sem pensar nem razão,
E até cantando a metade,
Bater roupa em realidade...
Quem me lava o coração?
© 1933, Fernando Pessoa (himself)
From: Poesia
Publisher: Assírio & Alvim, Lisbon
From: Poesia
Publisher: Assírio & Alvim, Lisbon
Poems
Poems of Fernando Pessoa
Close
The washwoman beats the laundry
The washwoman beats the laundryAgainst the stone in the tank.
She sings because she sings and is sad
For she sings because she exists:
Thus she is also happy.
If I could do in verses
What she does with laundry,
Perhaps I would lose
My surfeit of fates.
Ah, the tremendous unity
Of beating laundry in reality,
Singing songs in whole or in part
Without any thought or reason!
But who will wash my heart?
© 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 washwoman beats the laundry
The washwoman beats the laundryAgainst the stone in the tank.
She sings because she sings and is sad
For she sings because she exists:
Thus she is also happy.
If I could do in verses
What she does with laundry,
Perhaps I would lose
My surfeit of fates.
Ah, the tremendous unity
Of beating laundry in reality,
Singing songs in whole or in part
Without any thought or reason!
But who will wash my heart?
© 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