untitled poem 3 by Fernando Pessoa

Calm because I’m unknown,
And myself because I’m calm,
I want to fill my days
With wanting nothing from them.

For those whom wealth touches,
Gold irritates the skin.
For those on whom fame blows,
Life fogs over.

On those for whom happiness
Is their sun, night will fall.
But those who hope for nothing
Are glad for whatever comes.

translated by Richard Zenith

2 thoughts on “untitled poem 3 by Fernando Pessoa

    • He is wonderful and invented several different personas to write under. I was in NYC for 3 days to renew my work visas and though I didn’t have the time to go through all my books in storage, I did grab a few goodies, including one by him. My favorite Saramago novel is called The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis which was one of his invented guises and he is actually a characher in the novel.

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