Tuesday 22 June 2010

Fernando Pessoa (1888 – 1935 Lisbon, Portugal)

Follow your destiny,

Water your plants,
Love your roses.
The rest is shadow
Of unknown trees.


Reality is always
More or less
Than what we want.
Only we are always
Equal to ourselves.


It’s good to live alone,
And noble and great
Always to live simply.
Leave pain on the altar
As an offering to the gods.


See life from a distance.
Never question it.
There’s nothing it can
Tell you. The answer
Lies beyond the Gods.


But quietly imitate
Olympus in your heart.
The gods are gods
Because they don’t think
About what they are.