Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Fernando Pessoa

Since we do nothing in this confused world

Since we do nothing in this confused world
That lasts or that, lasting, is of any worth,
And even what’s useful for us we lose
            So soon, with our own lives,
Let us prefer the pleasure of the moment
To an absurd concern with the future,
Whose only certainty is the harm we suffer now
            To pay for its prosperity.
Tomorrow doesn’t exist. This moment
Alone is mine, and I am only who
Exists in this instant, which might be the last
            Of the self I pretend to be.

Since we do nothing in this confused world

Pois que nada que dure, ou que, durando,
Valha, neste confuso mundo obramos,
E o mesmo útil para nós perdemos
            Connosco, cedo, cedo,
O prazer do momento anteponhamos
À absurda cura do futuro, cuja
Certeza única é o mal presente
            Com que o seu bem compramos.
Amanhã não existe. Meu somente
É o momento, eu só quem existe
Neste instante, que pode o derradeiro
            Ser de quem finjo ser.
Close

Since we do nothing in this confused world

Since we do nothing in this confused world
That lasts or that, lasting, is of any worth,
And even what’s useful for us we lose
            So soon, with our own lives,
Let us prefer the pleasure of the moment
To an absurd concern with the future,
Whose only certainty is the harm we suffer now
            To pay for its prosperity.
Tomorrow doesn’t exist. This moment
Alone is mine, and I am only who
Exists in this instant, which might be the last
            Of the self I pretend to be.

Since we do nothing in this confused world

Since we do nothing in this confused world
That lasts or that, lasting, is of any worth,
And even what’s useful for us we lose
            So soon, with our own lives,
Let us prefer the pleasure of the moment
To an absurd concern with the future,
Whose only certainty is the harm we suffer now
            To pay for its prosperity.
Tomorrow doesn’t exist. This moment
Alone is mine, and I am only who
Exists in this instant, which might be the last
            Of the self I pretend to be.
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Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
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