THE KEEPER OF FLOCKS – XXIII

My blue eyes are like the sky
Which is calm like water in the sunlight.
It is so, blue and calm,
Because we don’t interrogate not even in astonishment…

If I do interrogate when I am astonished
No new fresh flowers are born in the meadows
Nor does it change anything in the sun so that it becomes more beautiful…
(Even if fresh flowers were born in the meadow
And the sun changed to become more beautiful,
I might have felt that there were less flowers in the meadow
And believed the sun to be uglier….
Because everything is as it is and that’s how it is,
And I accept it, and not thank it,
So it doesn’t appear as if I think about it…)

David Scanlon – England – (1963 – )

Pessoa, F. (2018) The Keeper of Flocks. In Portuguese and translated to English by David Scanlon. The Foolish Poet Press, Wilmslow, Portugal. THE KEEPER OF FLOCKS - XXIII. Page Number 98.

O meu olhar azul como o céu
É calmo como a água ao sol.
É assim, azul e calmo,
Porque não interroga nem se espanta…

Se eu interrogasse e me espantasse
Não nasciam flores novas nos prados
Nem mudaria qualquer coisa no sol de modo a ele ficar mais belo…
(Mesmo se nascessem flores novas no prado
E se o sol mudasse para mais belo,
Eu sentiria menos flores no prado
E achava mais feio o sol…
Porque tudo é como é e assim é que é,
E eu aceito, e nem agradeço,
Para não parecer que penso nisso…)

Fernando Pessoa

Fernando Pessoa – Portugal – (1888 - 1935)

Caeiro, A. (1914)[1925] “O Guardador de Rebanhos”. Athena, nº 4. Lisboa: Jan. 1925. Alberto Caeiro is an heteronym of Fernando Pessoa.

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